


Freedom

by arthureames



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Future Fic, mentions of Matt/Caroline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2014-04-24
Packaged: 2018-01-12 09:49:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 47,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1184798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arthureames/pseuds/arthureames
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years after leaving Mystic Falls with Klaus in order to let Elena and Damon continue their relationship in peace, Stefan Salvatore finds himself unable to resist the urge to save an innocent blonde girl from Klaus' impulsive and vengeful behavior.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Things never worked out the way Caroline wanted them to.

Knowing that made things easier. She didn't put too much hope or effort in anything. She knew better than to believe things would work out for her, and that would save her the pain of being let down later.

But if there was one thing worth believing in, it was Matt.

She didn't care how wrong things could go, she didn't care how much she could get hurt, she ignored the little voice inside her head that told her not to get too attached. She loved him, and he loved her, and that was the only thing that mattered.

It was all so unexpected. She had moved to New York when she turned 18, after getting a scholarship at NYU, her dream university, and that's where she met him. At first, they were only classmates. The first time they talked was when Caroline arrived late to one of her classes without a single pen. Then, slowly, they became friends. At one point, they were best friends. They talked about everything and everyone, and even though she knew she was falling for him, she thought it was best not to say anything. And after a few drinks and a long time denying their mutual attraction to each other, they became boyfriend and girlfriend. He was the perfect guy for her - handsome, well-driven, mature enough to know what he wanted for his life yet childish enough to joke around with her for hours while everyone else around them thought they were being stupid. And she used to think she was the perfect girl for him, but she was soon proven wrong.

A year and a half into their relationship, things started to change. Graduation was close. He had plans to go to law school. And she, well, she was lost. During her whole life, Caroline never needed anything she couldn't get. Her parents gave her everything they could, and she was never the kind of girl who asked for too much. She knew where her family stood in the money business, so she took whatever she could, never asked for more and never even wanted more. She was happy. And then, she grew up. She had to get a life of her own, pay for her clothes, her home, her food, everything, and she didn't want that, nor did she know where to start. Matt, however, had his whole life planned out: college, law school, marriage, family, job, and then boom, death.

She didn't want that, though. She loved life, and she didn't want to spend the little time she had to live on boring jobs, working her ass off for money that she knew she would probably spend in 2 days with bills and food and rent and everything she needed to live a "comfortable life", as her parents would say. She didn't want to grow up, study, work and then die, having done nothing but waste life on things that don't matter. She wanted to mean something. She wanted to go places, meet people, change someone's life, laugh, love, experience things, _do_  things. Live her life, but actually live it, not just push through it, consumed by worries like "How am I going to feed and clothe my children? Where am I going to get the money to buy this giant house for my family?"

That was basically Matt. He cared more about money, stability, than about life, and the beautiful things that are out there, and how life is short and you can't spend it on material things. He planned ahead, too ahead for her taste, but the worst thing was his tasteless desire to drag her along that way without asking for her permission. For a while, she shook it off, but then it just became too much. She couldn't break it off, though, because despite it all, she loved him. He was her first real boyfriend. Her first time. Even her first kiss, since she decided to completely ignore that one boy she kissed when she was 15 because it didn't last for more than 5 seconds and it was terrible.

She was afraid. She couldn't remember what she was before Matt anymore, and she had no clue as to whom she would become after him. But apparently, he didn't think that way. So one night, when he came home late and stressed out, he said he was done. He said he couldn't do it anymore, he couldn't pretend to love her as much as he once did, and that they wanted different things and it wouldn't be fair to her or to him if they kept going. He said he would pack his things and leave in the morning, and that she could have the apartment seeing as she was all alone in New York and had no place to stay (she lived in college for a while and after they started dating she quickly moved in with him, the fool) and he was born and raised there. And that was the end of it. You'd think Caroline had a back-up plan. A job, places to stay. But she didn't, because despite all their problems, Matt and Caroline were truly in love, and neither really took the possibility of a break-up very seriously. They should have.

Some days she would only feel numb regarding him, feel thankful that they broke up. Other days she would be close to calling him and trying to work things out because it all came back and she started missing him and his eyes and his smile and she just wanted him back. That change made her angry sometimes. Every time she thought she was finally over him, something would happen and she would start feeling like crap all over again. In that particular day, though, she was missing him, but not so much that she wanted to curl up and cry while dialing his number a hundred times only to press the red end button on her phone. She just missed him, and she felt like staying home, and not out "having fun".

The only reason she came to this party, this stupid nightclub where people drink and dance - no, not dance, they rub themselves on sweaty, disgusting strangers - was because her friend, April, practically dragged her out of her apartment, saying she was taking Caroline out for some "deserved fun" and would not take a no for an answer. She decided to put up with her friend's wish. She regretted it the minute she arrived, though. A couple of years back, when she was in high school and she was a popular cheerleader and all the boys wanted to be with her, she liked partying. But now, at the age of 23, close to turning 24, Caroline would rather stay home than go out partying. That was one of the few traits she lost from her teenage years. She saw that as a good thing.

So while everyone was on the dance floor and the music was so loud she could barely hear her own thoughts, she sat at the bar, a drink in her hand and a bored expression on her face. She would be home soon, she thought. Just a few more minutes.

"Hello, love." A stranger said, close to her ear, startling her.

"Hi." She answered, staring at her drink. She didn't want anyone to disturb her, but she knew it would happen eventually.

"A beautiful blonde like you, sitting by herself? I take it these American boys don't have their minds set the right way."

She decided to take a look at the guy with the strong British accent, because, really, if there is one thing Caroline isn't is rude, and being heartbroken and bored was not going to change that. He was good-looking. Bright eyes, cute accent. Maybe I can have some fun tonight, she thought. Show Matt what he was going to be missing in a while, which he would – he would miss her, he  _had_  to, even if he was the one who broke it off. She smiled.

"I know." She locked eyes with him. "What can I do, right? I can't exactly throw myself at them."

"Can't you?" He smirked. "I'm Klaus."

"Caroline."

Fifteen minutes later, she was kissing him in his car and his hand was travelling around her body and she almost felt bad when Matt's face suddenly appeared in her mind, but she shook it off and told herself he deserved it. They broke apart, and when she thought he was going to let her breathe for a while, he started kissing her neck and sucking on it, sending shivers down her spine.

"We're not going to have sex, you know that, right?" She said, because it didn't matter how hurt she was or how much she wanted to get back at Matt, she still had some dignity left.

"Oh, don't worry, love." He replied, looking at her eyes with an expression that sent shivers down her spine again – but this time, not the good kind. "That's not what I want from you."

Next thing she knew, she felt something tear at her skin, pain shooting at her and a gasp leaving her mouth. Did he just bite her?

"Hey, that hurt!" She said and broke off Klaus' hold, who locked his eyes with hers. She looked back at him, only to discover blood all over his mouth. Her eyes went wide with panic. He had veins sticking out under his eyes, too. What was happening? She brought a hand to her neck and gaped at the blood on her fingers. She blinked in shock, rubbing her fingertips and feeling the texture, as if she were trying to find another explanation for what she was seeing. She looked back at him, and he was smiling, fangs sticking out. That's when it hit her - fangs! She panicked again.

"Don't scream." He said, staring at her.

Why wouldn't she scream? The freak had just bit her, for God's sake! And he had fangs! But then, she found herself completely unable to scream. She had only one constant thought: Don't scream. A part of her wanted to scream, to run away, but she couldn't. Her mind was racing, panic still took over her, but for some reason, she couldn't control her body anymore.

He was back at her neck, sucking in her blood. What was he? A vampire? That was the only explanation – a  _freaking_   _vampire_. That was ridiculous, she knew that. But he had fangs, and he was drinking her blood. What else could he be? She tried breaking off of his hold on her, but he was strong. So strong he didn't even move an inch when she tried her best to push him away. Too strong.

She started feeling dizzy, then. Her vision started to blur, and then everything around her started getting darker, and she knew she was about to faint. She tried one more time to push him off of her with whatever strength she had left, but it didn't work. The last words she heard were "Klaus, stop it, you are going to kill her." It was a male voice. She blacked out the moment he let go of her neck.


	2. Chapter 2

Stefan Salvatore was not exactly what people would call a nice guy. In his eyes, at least. He used to be nice, though. Compassionate, always worrying about other people, listening to their problems and trying to be the best version of himself. But when you're nearly 170 years old, your definition of "nice" can get a little mixed up after so many places, people and betrayals.

Stefan had three major disappointments during his - long - existence. First, Katherine Pierce. Then, Damon Salvatore. And when he thought he was finally free from all these ghosts from his past reminding him of how painful it is to be betrayed by someone you love, Elena Gilbert happened. He knew that Katherine truly loved him and not Damon, but as much as she loved him, she loved herself more, and would do anything to protect herself - even lie to him for over a century, making him think she was trapped somewhere, dead - instead of putting him and their relationship first. He knew Damon was damaged, lost without Katherine, angry at Stefan and as much as it hurt him, he could do nothing but accept his brother's hatred. But Elena... what she did was more painful than both Katherine and Damon's betrayals combined.

He had done everything for her. Everything. He loved her more than he had ever loved Katherine, more than he even loved his brother and himself. He would die for her without thinking twice. But she chose Damon. It was fitting, really. Katherine chose Stefan, but Stefan wanted Elena, and Elena wanted Damon. It was what he deserved - karma even - and he knew that, and a part of him knew Damon deserved happiness at last, but he still gave himself the right to finally be a little selfish and regret the fact she didn't choose him; she left him. Things were going the way he wanted. They were happy. That's all he ever wanted, really - happiness. But life happened and then, suddenly, he found himself all alone again, watching Damon and Elena's relationship from afar, holding on to the memories of a time when Elena loved him, when he thought he had finally found his happiness.

He got to a point where there was nothing else for him in Mystic Falls. His brother got the girl, Rebekah started dating this new guy in town named Caleb, as human as they come, Jeremy and Bonnie decided to leave town hoping for a better future far away from all the vampires and the werewolves and the hybrids, and everyone else just didn't care anymore. They had lives, and he did not. So when Klaus decided to get the hell out of that stupid little town that had turned into the newest supernatural beings' hot spot, he invited Stefan to go with him, and even though he meant to say no, what actually came out was a yes and two weeks later they were in New York, reliving the good ol' days - minus the Ripper thing. That wouldn't happen.

He had one condition: Klaus had to behave. No killing, no feeding off innocents, no turning random people into vampires and hybrids and whatnot, and, again, because he felt like saying it only once wouldn't be enough, no killing. Absolutely no killing. Soon he realized Klaus wouldn't obey him even if he threatened to leave (because, really, Klaus didn't give two craps about him; he just didn't want to be alone), so he decided to follow his own conditions without Klaus, making sure no one died by Klaus' hands because despite all the pain and the suffering he had endured, he still had some decency left, and he was sure as hell not leaving it at the door when he had Klaus Mikaelson as his vampire companion.

He still thought about her sometimes. He often wondered what Mystic Falls had become after he left. He hadn't talked to Damon for a year now, and in all honesty, he missed his brother. When you're a vampire, five years isn't really a long time, but apparently it was enough for him to finally find a way to understand and forgive both Elena and Damon. He would never stop caring about Elena, though, he would never stop loving her. He forgave her, yes, but he still loved her. There were days he felt like he couldn't do it anymore, like he needed her beside him again, like he was about to collapse and die if he didn't hear her voice one more time. But things were different now. Stefan had lived too long with and for Elena and it was time to live for himself, no matter how hard, unfair and unpleasant it looked like.

It was late one night when Klaus decided it would be fun to go to a nightclub and find someone to feed on, because he was bored and he had fed off of blood bags for the past 5 days and he needed some fresh, warm, straight out of the vein blood. Stefan, as usual, went with him, to make sure he wouldn't get carried away and end up killing any poor, innocent young blond girl - his favorite type.

"Don't hurt anyone." Stefan said, raising an eyebrow at Klaus.

"I am not sure if you understand how this works, dear Stefan. I am going to find someone and feed on them. I'm positive that is going to hurt a bit, don't you think?"

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Then don't kill anyone."

Stefan decided to hide somewhere he could watch the car to make sure the girl didn't get hurt while still going unnoticed by the other people walking around the parking lot, because, well, it would certainly look weird to people passing by to realize this man was alone, staring at a couple while they made out in a car.

He even got distracted with a game on his phone at one point, because vampires are allowed to get bored too, but then he started smelling blood and he knew Klaus was feeding already. He started listening to the whole thing, as a way of making sure he would be ready to act would anything happen, concentrating mainly on the girl's breath sounds and heartbeat. When he could clearly sense she was passing out, he ran quickly to the car, tapped on the window and leaned over.

"Klaus, stop it, you are going to kill her."

Klaus let go of her neck, sighing and rolling his eyes. "Damn it, Stefan. Always a buzz killer."

"She's dying, you idiot."

"Yes, I can see that."

Stefan breathed deeply. "Move."

Klaus got out of the car, letting Stefan sit on the driver's seat, while a blonde girl was lying on the passenger's seat, passed out. Typical. Stefan fed her his blood and the color came back to her face, which made Stefan sigh, relieved. Klaus got in the backseat and closed the door.

"Let's go."

Stefan furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean, let's go? What about her?"

"I think I can feed on her one more time."

"Are you insane?" Stefan raised his voice.

"No?" Klaus replied, sarcastically. "I'll just compel her to forget later."

"I can't let you do this, Klaus." Stefan stared at him.

"Well, it's a good thing I don't need your permission for anything. Now drive."

"No!" Stefan answered, louder.

"Yes! If you don't want to do this, then just don't. But she's pretty. And a good kisser. Oh, and her blood... it tastes amazing. So yes, Salvatore, I will feed on her again. I do not need your permission, all I need is for you to drive, but if you do not want to do that, go away already."

"You are  _not_  going to kill her."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "No, Stefan, I am not going to kill her."

"Fine." Stefan gave in. It was useless to argue. The girl would have better chances of living if he was there. "Let's go."

So Stefan drove off. He didn't dare to take a single glance at the girl, since he could already feel guilt creeping up on him, his mind screaming at him to protect her, to not let Klaus hurt her. But he also knew that Klaus was Klaus - he didn't ask for permission, never had, never would. So all he could do was stick around to make sure she got out of all that alive and well.

Sometimes he wondered why he still did that. He could walk away, leave Klaus to his business, find somewhere else to live. It would be so much easier. But doing all that, saving people and keeping Klaus from doing anything stupid, that sounded like the punishment he deserved. What else could he do anyway? Stefan Salvatore wasn't a nice person anymore, but he could still be useful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stefan's POV! What did you think? Now I won't be revisiting any event twice, it'll just flow naturally, alternating between Caroline and Stefan's point of views. Hope you like it! Pleaaase tell me what you think of this fanfiction, I love hearing feedback.


	3. Chapter 3

Caroline slowly opened her eyes, rubbing them to get rid of the blurriness. For a moment, her mind was blank, and she almost got up thinking she would be late for work. She felt the strange and strong smell of a cologne she couldn't recognize, which instantly made her aware that she wasn't in her room, and that was certainly not Matt or any other guy she knew sitting next to her, staring at her with a blank look on his face. She jumped and sat straight on the bed, looking at the guy while his expression didn't change at all - he didn't even move.

She didn't know what to say. All she could do was look at the room, notice how every single piece of furniture had only black and white on it, notice how even the walls were black and white and how there was no other color at all, lock eyes with him, then look around the room again and back at him, a never-ending cycle of "what the hell is going on here where the hell am I who are you what is happening?", while he calmly blinked and breathed in and out, like he wasn't even aware of the whole situation, like he was frozen, like he had no emotions whatsoever.

Like he wasn't human.

Panic bubbled up inside Caroline when she finally remembered the events of the previous night: the attractive guy with the cute accent literally biting into her neck, sucking out her blood, like a freaking vampire. Her eyes widened, and she locked eyes with the man next to her again, and this time she swore she saw him nod slightly. She raced through her thoughts desperately trying to find something to say - anything. She had so much to ask, but she couldn't find the words. She couldn't do anything but stare at that man, while inside she felt everything all at once.

She took deep breaths to calm herself down, yelling at herself inside her mind, urging her brain to come up with something to say. Apparently, it worked, and she finally choked out a few words.

"Who are you?" She let out, and her voice was a lot more scared than she wanted it to be.

"My name is Stefan. Stefan Salvatore."

"And?"

"Well," he said calmly, "I am... me. Stefan. What else do you want?"

She laughed dryly. "What do I want? Okay, let's see. I want to know where I am. I want to know why I'm here, I want to know how I got here, and most importantly, I want to know what the freaking hell happened last night, because so far I'm still trying to convince myself that I was dreaming or someone put something on my drink that made me have hallucinations because what I think happened can't be true, it's just completely a hundred percent impossible and-" She noticed the funny face Stefan was making, like he was thinking all of that was funny or entertaining or both, and it made her blood boil.

Stefan noticed her annoyance, cleared his throat and began calmly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. You're just very, very agitated right now."

"Yeah, I wonder why." Caroline said, sarcastically.

"Fine. I'll explain everything to you. What do you want to know?"

"Are you a vampire?" Caroline asked, the words coming out of her mouth before she could hold them down.

He looked at the ground for a split second and then back at her. "Yes."

Her heartbeat accelerated, but she tried to stay calm at least on the outside. "Is Klaus a vampire too?"

"Yes."

"Well, that explains why he was sucking my blood." She almost grinned for a second, but then the reality of the situation came crashing in and she started freaking out again. "What am I doing here?"

"Klaus wanted you."

"For what?"

He hesitated. "For... your blood."

She was positive her heart was about to beat out of her chest. "He wants... my blood?"

"Yes. Apparently, he liked you." Stefan said, without a sign of pity, worry or anything whatsoever. Just blank.

"Why?"

"I can't answer that."

Caroline gulped down and closed her eyes for a while, preparing herself mentally for the answer to her next question. "Is he going to kill me?"

"No. I won't let him."

Relief washed over her. She didn't trust this guy, not at all. But it was still a better answer than "yes, you're doomed", which was exactly what she was expecting.

"And why not?"

He breathed deeply. "Because that's what I do. I follow Klaus around and I make sure he doesn't kill anyone."

"Sounds like a nice job."

He nodded and smiled.

An awkward silence fell over them. Given the situation, though, the silence was the least important thing for Caroline. Her breathing was finally even and her heartbeat back to normal, but it didn't mean she was ready to get up and give her blood to a vampire with a smile on her face.

"You seem awfully calm in this situation." Stefan said, making her jump a little.

"I can't really do anything here, can I? I mean, according to Twilight, vampires are super strong, and fast, and they glow in the sunlight, so basically, I'm screwed. And they can read thoughts, too! Can you read my thoughts?"

He couldn't help but grin. "No, I can't. And I don't glow in the sunlight, either."

"Oh."

More silence.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Caroline asked.

Stefan glanced at the door. "Now you wait for Klaus. I'll try to talk him out of feeding on you again, but I doubt it will work. He won't do it again so after that, I believe, so you'll be free to go. He's probably going to wipe off your memory so in a few hours you'll be home with no memory of any of this."

"Wipe off my memory? How can he do that?"

"With compulsion."

Something clicked inside her mind, then. "Compulsion? Is that why I couldn't scream last night when he..." She paused for a moment, her heart racing again when the memories of the horror she went through the night before came rushing back. "When he did what he did?"

Stefan nodded. "Yes."

Caroline looked down. She closed her eyes, wishing more than anything to suddenly wake up and realize that all this - the feeding, the vampires, Klaus, and even Stefan - was nothing but a dream. Her head was filled with so many thoughts all at once she thought it was going to explode. She was scared, she still couldn't wrap her mind completely over what was going on. How could this be? She was trying to get over Matt, she was trying to have some fun and she failed terribly at that, and got herself into a freaking vampire murder house, with a crazy vampire wanting to feed on her blood, and an almost decent vampire who, despite being a  _freaking vampire_ , was proving to have at least some humanity left.

He was good-looking, she thought. He had deep green eyes, and even though he barely even showed his teeth in the whole conversation, she could tell he had a handsome smile. But then again, so did Klaus, and he ended up biting her neck and feeding on her, so she had decided that if she started judging vampires by their looks, she would probably be dead in a near future.

The thought made her even more curious. Were there other vampires? Did Stefan feed on innocent people too? What else could they do? Caroline loved vampire stories, she did. But she never thought they were real, that possibility never even crossed her mind, and now there she was: Caroline Forbes. Talking to a real life vampire. Working as a walking-talking buffet for another. Great. What was next? Ghosts? Werewolves? The whole thing made her stomach turn and her head hurt. Oh, how getting annoyed by Matt's constant life-long plan seemed silly now. How wanting to change someone's life and do something that mattered seemed like the thoughts of a 12 years old who knew nothing of the world.

Caroline felt stupid, naïve, dumb. All this time she only had one wish: to live a life full of surprises and adventures, never boring, never dull. Vampires. How's that for a surprise?

"Klaus is here." Stefan said, bringing Caroline back to the real world - if she could still call a world with vampires "real" -, and when she fully processed what he told her, her heart went back to racing. "I'll be right back."

And just like that, Stefan was out of the door. She was alone, again. She almost missed the half-decent vampire, because the thought of being alone when someone wanted to drink your blood didn't make Caroline the least bit calm. She listened carefully to whatever was happening outside the room, but she only got bits and pieces.

"You can't feed on her, she's a human being!" She heard Stefan say, his voice loud.

"Exactly, Salvatore, she's a human being, I'm a vampire, vampires feed on human beings, it's that simple!" Klaus responded just as loudly.

She closed her eyes. Go to a happy place, she thought. In her mind, she went to the night she won as Prom Queen. Everyone cheered her, clapped, while she smiled at the feeling of the crown being put on her head. She couldn't even remember who the Prom King was. Maybe Samuel Reynolds, the popular jock she had a crush on, but she couldn't tell for sure. It was so long ago. All she could remember was the happiness and the safety of the moment, and-

The door burst open. She jumped, her heart leaping out of her chest. It was Klaus.

"It's breakfast time." He smiled, and it couldn't have been more terrifying.

Fear washed over her, infecting her every cell. She couldn't even feel him biting her, she was just too scared. She could swear she saw Stefan watching everything from outside the door, but before she could be sure of it, darkness once more threatened to take over her, and she gladly gave herself to it, seeing it as the only way to escape the terrifying reality she was facing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos! Hope you like this chapter and comment please! Tell me what you think of the story and what you'd like to see, it's very very helpful to know what you guys are thinking when reading this story.


	4. Chapter 4

It made Stefan's blood boil to see Klaus feeding on this innocent girl. She didn't deserve that, no one deserved that. He tried to understand why Klaus took such a liking for her, for her blood, why he kidnapped her just so he could feed on her one more time. It made him wonder why. He was glad he was accustomed to human blood now. If this were happening, say, 10 years ago, he would probably be freaking out, wanting to taste her blood too, taken over by lust and hunger.

But that wasn't the case, so instead of that lust and that hunger he only felt pity. And guilt. Even though he knew he couldn't do anything else to help this poor girl, even though he knew he had already tried to help her and failed miserably, he still felt guilt. It had been a while since he felt guilt over something like this. It was definitely not the first time he watched Klaus feed on clueless, innocent girls. He couldn't put his finger on what made this occasion different from the others; he only knew it was different.

Sometimes Stefan liked to pretend that after everything that happened with Elena he changed, he became the kind of person (if he could still call himself a person) that didn't care about anything. He liked to think that he was tougher, that he didn't have any of the traits he used to have 5 years ago, that he didn't feel anything and that all he wanted was to keep Klaus from killing people and drinking booze and blood. But that was a lie. Probably the biggest lie of his existence. On the outside, Stefan looked like he had practically turned off his humanity. He looked like the only thing he still had from his old self was the "no killing innocent people" rule. But on the inside, he was still the same. He still hoped for a happy ending, for eternal bliss, for something that would make him think that all the pain was worth it.

And seeing this girl just reminded him of that. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, no matter how many people he succeeded in deceiving; it's not true. It's never true, never real. He cared. He felt. Fake it until you make it, they said, but Stefan had been faking it for far too long to believe that he would ever really make it.

He decided he couldn't take it anymore. He left the room, he sat on the couch with a bottle of booze on his hand not even bothering to look for a glass, and he started drinking, hopefully into oblivion.

"I'm done with her." Klaus walked in after a few minutes, making the oblivion task even harder for Stefan.

He breathed in deeply. "Good. Can I take her home?"

"Not yet." He said, wiping her blood off of the corner of his mouth.

Stefan closed his eyes in annoyance. "Why not?"

"I don't know, Stefan. Just not yet."

Stefan was too tired to argue. He took yet another sip of alcohol and leaned his head back.

"You seem awfully angry at my decision to keep her here. Why?"

"Klaus, don't."

Klaus smirked. "What?"

"I hate this." He stood up suddenly, anger bubbling inside of him. "It's been five years. Five freaking years, and you are still trying to turn me into a Ripper again. You try, and you try, and you try, and you know it's not going to work. I am not going back to being that... that thing! I agreed to come here with you because I couldn't be there. I couldn't take Elena and Damon together, I couldn't do it. But that doesn't mean that I've gone completely insane, or that just because Elena chose him I'm giving up on everything and starting to rip people apart!" Stefan realized how loud his voice was, so he stopped for a second, took a deep breath, and resumed his speech. "Just let the girl go. It's not gonna work."

Klaus stared at him, almost blankly, but suddenly there was a flash of anger in his eyes and he started out, voice already louder than normal. "You are wrong, Stefan. This is not a game. I am not trying to turn you into anything. I do not care about you, or your broken heart, or how your brother is currently playing house with your ex-girlfriend. That girl, over there - she's food for me. Like every other human being in this world. Nothing but food. This is not about you, or your silly little love problems. This is about me, and the stupid cold blood bags I have eaten all these days. You are not the boss of me, if anything,  _I_  am the boss of you, so you should shut your stupid mouth up and stop arguing with me, or you can leave and find the next Elena doppelgänger to mend your broken heart."

"We had an agreement." Stefan said.

Klaus let out a dry laugh. "Agreement? No. Never. And even if we did, it wouldn't change anything. Not even Elijah can tell me what to do, so do not expect me to obey you. It's never going to happen."

"I can take her. Take her and leave, and you'll never finds us."

"Oh, I will." Klaus said, his face now contorted with anger, his voice harsh and loud. "And when I do, I will kill her, and then I'll kill you, and if I'm feeling up to it I may even find little Elena and kill her too. You do not want to mess with me, Stefan. Especially over a girl whose name you don't even know."

Stefan only stared at him, taken aback by the threat. Not the girl part, not his part, but the Elena part sent shivers down his spine.

"You have two choices here, Stefan. Risk everything for this girl, who will probably tell the world about us, about vampires, before you can even think of leaving this town. Or you can be the good little pet you have been for these past five years and stop arguing. It's up to you."

And just like that, Klaus was gone.

* * *

Hours later, Stefan was back on the couch, gulping down more alcohol and thinking about the argument he had with Klaus earlier. He couldn't believe Klaus threatened Elena. Actually, on a second thought, he could, because that was Klaus and he wasn't exactly expecting anything decent from him, ever. He knew they weren't friends, he knew he meant nothing to Klaus and he also knew Klaus meant nothing to him. But up to that day he had never really defied Klaus, so it surprised him to see Klaus going so low as to threaten Elena to keep Stefan on check.

He knew they had a difficult relationship, he knew that they barely even respected each other, but it never crossed his mind that Klaus only thought of him as a "good little pet", it never crossed his mind that Klaus, when defied, would involve Elena and her safety into the play. He thought he was hiding it well. He thought Klaus was sure Stefan was completely over her. But apparently, he was wrong.

And Klaus was right. Why would he put Elena's safety in jeopardy for this girl? This blonde girl who read Twilight books and thought he glowed in sunlight? He didn't even acknowledged that he was also being threatened - all he could think about was Elena. But then again, Elena had Damon. And not only Damon, she had Bonnie, Jeremy, everyone still looked out for her. And this girl was all alone. Did she have any family? Were they looking for her?

Still, he couldn't do it. He couldn't pick a fight with Klaus over something like this. He knew better than to ask why Klaus kept the girl, but there had to be a reason why she was so important. Or, maybe, there was no reason at all. Klaus had always been impulsive. Maybe this was just another one of his impulsive acts, and going against Klaus on this wouldn't work well in the end. He knew something bad would happen. He knew Klaus would eventually get to him, kill him or kill the girl, or even actually succeed in killing Elena. He knew better than to underestimate Klaus.

So he reached a decision: he would do nothing. He would let Klaus be, but he would look out for the girl. He still didn't know Klaus' plans for her, but he knew he would find out soon enough, and he would be there to help her if she needed. Hell, he could even turn her, if she agreed. Tell Klaus he tried to heal her with his blood but it was too late, and she died with his blood in her system if it ever gets that bad. He just wanted to help, to keep this girl, Elena, and even himself safe, to continue living without grief. It had been so long since he experienced grief; He sure as hell didn't want to experience it again.

_Patience, Stefan. Just be patient._ He thought to himself.

But he needed patience from Klaus and the girl, too. And he wasn't so certain he was getting it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

Caroline's neck was throbbing. She was on the bed, with her eyes closed, breathing in and out as slowly as she could, trying to think of anything else other than her current situation. She thought about movies, about April's relationship with her boyfriend, about her childhood, about her house, even about chocolate at one point. She only wanted to forget what was happening to her, she didn't want to think about it all.

But even though, for a while, she was able to tune it off, it all came crashing back in when she heard Stefan and Klaus arguing outside her room. She couldn't listen to the whole thing because they were pretty far away from her door, but when their voices got louder, she was able to make out almost everything, which only made her even more confused.

Stefan was really trying to keep her safe. Like, for real. She thought he wouldn't do it, she even thought the only reason he was being nice to her was to keep her in check for the big vampire, or that maybe he was giving her hopes only to take them away later. But he tried. And she didn't know how to feel about that.  
She had Klaus, the guy who feeds on her and doesn't care about her feelings, doesn't care that she is a human being. Klaus, who would kill his own friend and threaten someone called Elena - whom she figured meant a lot to Stefan, since he went completely silent the moment she was mentioned -, only because he wanted some warm blood straight out of a human being's vein.

And then she had Stefan. He seemed nice. He seemed... human. He showed compassion, even though his eyes were blank for the majority of the time they spent together, he showed that he cared and that he didn't agree with Klaus' action. He was the complete opposite of Klaus.

She didn't fear Stefan. She had no reason to. But she feared Klaus, and she feared his control over Stefan. In her situation, Stefan was her last hope. She couldn't fight; it would be useless. She couldn't count on anyone from the outside world; Matt wouldn't call her and April would probably assume she was at some random guy's place getting over Matt. Her mother didn't really call her that much, and to be honest, she didn't have anyone else. A couple of other friends, yes. But she doubted they would even notice she was gone.

At some point, she fell asleep. It's surprising how tired you get when a vampire drinks from your vein.  
She was woken up by the sound of someone walking in. She decided to pretend she was still asleep because maybe, if it was Klaus, he would realize she wasn't ready to be fed on again, and he would leave her alone.

When she caught the scent of that same cologne from last time mixed up with alcohol, she realized it was Stefan, and she felt relieved. Maybe a little bit too relieved, especially in her situation.

"I know you're awake."

She decided to open her eyes, then. It wouldn't work.

"Nice." She said. "Are you here to mix up some hot sauce with my blood for Klaus the Vampire King?"

"That would be disgusting." He said in a serious tone.

"What, the blood part? Yes, I agree." She sat back.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "I brought some bandages for you."

"Wow. Great. My savior!" She remarked sarcastically.

Caroline swore she saw him flinch a little. She wasn't being rude though, was she? Even if she were, she had the right to be. Visibly upset, he sat in front of her, avoiding eye contact at all costs, and she shifted in her seat, feeling the sting of her neck wound.

"I'm sorry." She said rather shyly. "My name is Caroline, by the way. Caroline Forbes."

"Nice to officially meet you, then, Caroline." He gave her a half-smile. He then looked at her neck and back at her. "Can I?"

"Of course." She replied, taking her hair out of the way.

He started cleaning her bite marks with alcohol, which made her flinch at first. He quickly apologized, but kept rubbing alcohol on injury on her neck, and then proceeded to dress the wound so that it could heal. She hoped Klaus wouldn't have the need to feed on her again, or else she would end up with a lot of scars. Which was a silly thought; her life was on the line, and she was thinking about future scars. Good one, Caroline.

"So, who's Elena?" Caroline asked.

He froze. She immediately regretted asking it. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to." She said, trying to make up for the terrible mistake she had just made.

"No, it's fine." He said, lowering his hands and sitting more comfortably. Wound cleaning time was done. He took a deep breath. "Elena is someone very special to me."

"Your girlfriend, then?"

He shook his head. "No. She was my girlfriend once, though. But some stuff happened and now she's just someone who I really, really care about, but from far away."

"What happened?" She asked. Curiosity was one of Caroline's most irritating traits. She couldn't control it.

"A lot happened. We fell in love, we were together. My brother fell for her. She fell for him. She became a vampire. She was sired to him. She turned her humanity off. She despised us both. She turned it back on. She chose him. I left."

"Wow." Caroline exclaimed. "But, wait. Is your brother a vampire, too?"

"Yes, he is. His name is Damon. We were both turned by Katherine in 1864."

Caroline's eyes widened. "1864? Holy crap, you're one old little fella."

He laughed. "Yes, I am. You see, back in 1864, both me and Damon were in love with Katherine. Elena looks exactly like her - she's a doppelgänger."

She remembered hearing the word doppelgänger back when Klaus and Stefan argued. It made sense now.

"Talk about history repeating itself, huh?"

"Yeah..." He said, almost bitterly. "Except with Katherine, things were way more complicated. Katherine had both me and Damon wrapped around her little finger. She had us compelled to do whatever she wanted. She was being hunted - by my dad, to make matters worse -, and we helped her escape. Except we got shot, and died with her blood in our system. So we became vampires. Then we thought she was dead for over a century. I moved on. I did some stuff I'm not proud of. And then I met Elena."

"And let me guess - it was love at first sight."

He nodded. "Pretty much, yeah. Everything was perfect for a while, but then reality set in, and things started to go from bad to worse. So I decided to move on. I came here with Klaus; mostly because I had nothing else keeping me in Mystic Falls, but also because I saw that as a chance to keep him on track and slowly but surely get over Elena. It was a way of keeping my mind off of her, you know? I needed to move on. I couldn't keep reliving history over and over again. I had to be my own person, I had to find a way to forget about her and create my own life."

"I know exactly how you feel." She couldn't contain her surprise. Here she was, talking to a vampire about relationship issues, about broken hearts and needing to move on from people who had hurt you.

"So what's your story?" He questioned. "You have this look on your face of someone who's been through the same things I've been through. Without the compulsion, vampires, blood..." She laughed and nodded.

She told him everything about Matt. About how she was disappointed in him, how she felt betrayed, how she was hurt. She talked about how confused she was, because even though she didn't agree with him anymore and she wanted to leave him, when he actually said the words 'I'm breaking up with you', she felt like her world was crumbling down around her. She talked about everything, absolutely everything, even details she hadn't even told April yet. And when she was done, she felt like the weight on her shoulders had just been lifted off.

"Well." He said. "I'm sorry."

She looked down at her hands. "Me too. About Matt and about Elena, too."

He gave her a sad smile. "Thanks."

They stayed in silence for a couple of seconds before Caroline spoke up again. "You're very different from what I thought, you know."

He frowned. "Different how?"

"You're just... different. You're not using me as a source of food, for a starter. You have feelings. You're nice. You sound human, even."

Stefan chuckled. "Well, thank you. You're nice, too. And human. Definitely human." He said. "And I'm sorry for all of this. I wish Klaus would just let you go. I'm really, really sorry."

"It's not your fault." She reassured him, realizing he felt somewhat guilty.

"If you say so."

"I mean it, Stefan. I get the feeling that if you could do something about this, you would. So I know that you can't."

He looked down. "Yeah."

"Don't beat yourself up over this. It's Klaus' fault and no one else's."

Stefan paused for a while, a smile almost spreading up his lips. "You're the one being held hostage by a crazy and hungry vampire who has taken a very particular liking to your blood. Why are  _you_  the one comforting  _me_?"

Caroline laughed. "I don't know. I guess that's just what I do."

"Thank you, Caroline."

She grinned. "Don't mention it."

Caroline realized then and there that Stefan was just a broken guy who was tired, who always wanted to do the right thing, but somehow ended up failing every time. His guilt took the best of him, and it confused him, it made him wish things were easier. She could relate to that, which only made it easier to ignore the fact that he was a vampire. Klaus was a monster, but Stefan was not. She sympathized with him. If the circumstances were any different, she wouldn't mind having him in her life. He was just a guy, with a history of being heartbroken who still believed someday he would get a happy ending.

He believed in the same things Caroline did. Deep down inside, they wanted equal things, they felt the same way, they hoped for something they both knew they would probably never get.

Caroline started to see Stefan in a total different light. He wasn't the companion of the monster who fed on her anymore. He was just a scared, lost boy, stuck inside the body of an ageless vampire. It remind her of herself, in a way, if you ignored the ageless vampire part.

This wasn't right, and she knew it. Why would she sympathize with a vampire while she was being held by another? It was stupid, more stupid than probably anything Caroline had ever done, but she couldn't help it. Stefan was good. She couldn't deny that, he deserved the credit for not being like Klaus.

She could be wrong, too. It could all be nothing but a facade, she knew that too. But somehow she felt like she could trust Stefan, no matter what. And Caroline, at that moment, needed someone to trust, or else she would probably lose her mind. She couldn't go through all of this alone, and it was comforting to know she had someone on her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this one!


	6. Chapter 6

Stefan Salvatore was not exactly what people would call a nice guy.

Still, that's the word he heard from Caroline. Nice.

Nice and different. Human, even. If only she knew what those words meant to him.

But then again, not even Stefan knew it himself. You'd think that after living for 170 years, one would be certain of itself, but not Stefan. He had changed so much, so many times. He had been a hundred different Stefans through his existence. Naive, innocent Stefan with Katherine. Ripper Stefan. Guilty Stefan trying to make up for all the killings, all the lives he took during his ripper years. Hopeful Stefan, believing that somehow he could still find happiness at the end of the day. And now, apparently, he was Nice Stefan. Different Stefan. Human Stefan, even.

Sometimes Stefan lied and pretended to be something he was not for so long, he actually started believing in it. And he needed someone to remind him of what he was hiding, someone to slap him in the face and shout 'This is not you. Stop pretending. Stop drowning in your pain and your hurt because when it finally hits you again, it will be ten times worse', but for the past five years he had no one to do that for him.

And then Caroline showed up.

Somewhere between telling her about Elena and listening to her talk about Matt, he remembered who he really was. He was nice, different, he had been human once, too. All this time, that's what he had drowned in - not pain, not hurt, but himself. He was trying so hard to hold on to Elena, to move on without really having to move on entirely, that he ended up lying and believing it.

He didn't love Elena anymore. He wished he still did, because it would make it easier to justify why he had been away with Klaus for this long, why he had watched Klaus hurt innocent people for three years, only interfering when someone was about die. He just wanted to find an excuse for his behavior.

He would always care about Elena. He would always worry.

Maybe if he saw her again, he would be confused for a while and wonder if he was really over her, if he had really found the strength to move on completely.

But he wasn't about to let an innocent live at Klaus' mercy over maybes and ifs. She was threatened, he knew that, but she had Damon. She had Bonnie, Jeremy, Tyler - everyone. She was home, happy, and she could damn well take care of herself.

Caroline was alone. She had no one. At least, no one that could actually do something about her situation. He couldn't let her die, or worse, live forever as Klaus' walking and talking blood bag. He had the power to do something, so he was going to do it, and no threat would stop him.

So he waited, watched, talked to Caroline, made her feel better, tried to make her forget her situation, tried to help her as much as he could for two days before he finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Get up." He said, bursting in Caroline's room.

"What? Why?" Caroline questioned, looking at him with wide eyes.

"We're leaving."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"We are leaving, Caroline. I'm not gonna let him do this to you, not anymore." He spoke firmly.

"What about Elena?"

"Elena's a big girl. She can take care of herself, and even if she couldn't, my brother and everyone else around her can. You're all alone, Caroline, but not anymore, because I'm gonna take you out of here and I'm gonna keep you safe."

She smiled slightly. "Why?"

His eyes met hers for the first time since he entered the room. "Because you called me nice."

The look on Caroline's face was one Stefan had never seen before, but still, he knew exactly what it meant. She was trusting him; trusting him with her safety, her life. He was giving him all her hope, and she was giving him her trust, and that was enough to make her jump out of the bed and into his arms, hugging him tightly and whispering "Thank you" over and over. Stefan closed his eyes, taking in the scent of strawberries coming from her hair - a shampoo he had given her since she kept going on and on about how it was impossible for her to go more than a day without washing her hair - and he couldn't fight the smile creeping up on his lips.

Stefan may have done bad things in the past. He deceived some people, manipulated others, killed many. But he was going to save Caroline and he wasn't going to let her down, no matter what happened.

* * *

A while later, when Caroline was riding shotgun and Stefan was driving away from New York, not really sure where he was going, Caroline decided she had enough of the silence and decided to turn on the radio. She couldn't settle on a station, though, which made Stefan grin, especially when she rolled her eyes at all the new auto-tuned hits that kept playing in every single station. She settled on one, though, happily falling back into her seat. Stefan didn't recognize the song, and he looked at her with a fuzzed expression.

"Don't tell me you don't know this song. Just don't." Caroline said, crossing her arms.

"Fine, I won't tell you, then." Stefan turned his eyes back to the road.

"You're joking."

"I'm not."

"It's all coming back to me now!"

"What is coming back to you?"

She rolled her eyes. "That's the song title. Celine Dion?"

"Nope." He shook his head.

"Impossible. You're old! How can you not know her? And this song! This song is my jam!" She joked. "Okay, more like, guilty pleasure. Very guilty."

"I understand why." Stefan said, and Caroline raised her eyebrows.

"It's all coming back it's all coming back to me now, there were moments of gold and there were flashes of light!" She sang along, looking at Stefan and using her hand as a microphone. "There were things I'd never do again but then they always seemed right!" Her voice got louder and Stefan was laughing, unable to keep his attention in the road and instead watching her little private concert. "There were nights of endless pleasure, it was more than any laws alloooooow!"

Caroline burst out laughing when her voice cracked and Stefan joined her, while Celine Dion shouted from the radio. "You're insane." Stefan said.

"So are you!" She retorted, still out of breath from all the singing and laughing.

Stefan was about to say something, but his phone started ringing. He checked the caller before answering, and he tensed the moment he read the name - Klaus. He looked at Caroline, and the smile on her face suddenly disappeared. She could read him clear as day.

"Pick it up." She said.

Stefan tried to breathe, but it got caught in his throat. He pressed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear.

"Why, why, Stefan. Where are you?" Klaus' voice rang through, filling his ears, reminding him of the situation he was in.

"Far away." He lied. They weren't really  _that_  far away.

"And the girl?"

Stefan glanced at Caroline, who was staring intently at him, fingers entwined. "I don't know."

Klaus laughed. "I am offended. Do you really think I can be lied to this easily?" His tone suddenly grew angrier. "Where is the girl?"

"She's far away, too."

"With you, I suppose."

"You suppose."

Klaus took a deep breath - so deep Stefan could hear it over the phone. "I do not have the time nor the patience to play one of your little word games now, Stefan. So I'll give you a chance. You have exactly one hour to bring her back. If you do, I'll forgive you, I'll pretend nothing happened, I'll forget your stupid attempt at running away with her, which is rather pathetic, since you've known this girl for what? 4 days?" He paused, but Stefan didn't say anything, so he scoffed. "Thought so. You know, after Elena I really believed you had learned something. I thought you knew better than to give everything up for a girl you barely know just because you're attracted to some kind of doppelganger beauty. Which is curious, by the way, since sweet Caroline resembles Elena as much as a person resembles a rabbit. Especially when it comes to blood. You know that better than most." Klaus laughed. "Back to the point: One hour. Or you can kiss yours, Caroline's  _and_  Elena's lives goodbye."

"Oh, and Stefan," Klaus said. "Be careful with her, would ya. We don't want her dying with all that vampire blood in her system, now, do we?"

The line went off.

Stefan almost got lost in hatred, in anger, in desperate need of revenge, but Caroline's eyes were so concentrated on him and so full of fear he couldn't dare to give in to those feelings. He couldn't dare to be selfish.

"What did he say?" She asked, her voice breaking.

He gritted his teeth. He couldn't handle the look on her face, the fear written all around her features. Minutes ago she was laughing, singing, and now here she was - reduced to nothing but a scared little girl. It made him so angry it was hard t breathe.

"We'll be a good hour ahead of him. I think it gives us enough time."

"Enough time for what?" Her voice was back to normal now. Or as normal as it could get under the circumstances.

It hit Stefan, then, that he had no idea where they would go. Klaus was definitely going to find them - it could take an hour, a day, a week, a month, but he was coming. He had no way of fighting him. He couldn't kill him, but that didn't mean he couldn't be stopped. He was all alone, though, with a human to protect - a human with vampire blood in her system - and he had absolutely no chance whatsoever, no matter how hard he fought. An idea came to his mind, then.

He knew he would regret it later. He could already hear a voice screaming at him, telling him it was the worst idea he had ever had since the day he left Mystic Falls with Klaus, but he chose to ignore it for Caroline's safety. He had been selfish for the past five years, holding on to Elena and his feelings for her, behaving as if he were the only one left in the universe. But not anymore. He had Caroline now. She was his chance of redemption, she was his chance of making things right and changing once and for all, and he would not make the same mistake twice. He would not let Elena become another one of his excuses. He was done.

He took a deep breath, and, stepping harder on the gas pedal, glanced at Caroline.

"We're going to Mystic Falls."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, please! And about Celine Dion - I had to. Sorry, not sorry.


	7. Chapter 7

"Mystic Falls?" Caroline asked, confused.

"Yes. It'll take 2 hours top."

"Wait, no." Caroline shook her head. "Mystic Falls. It's your old town, isn't it? The one with all the vampires and Elena and your brother. I don't understand, isn't that... predictable? I mean, for Klaus."

He shook his head. "Trust me, I know Klaus. And I know exactly what he thinks he knows about me. Mystic Falls will be the last of his guesses."

"But what about the other vampires?" She questioned, fearing for her life once again.

He looked at her, noticing her uneasiness. "Don't worry about them. They're not gonna hurt you."

She breathed deeply. "Okay, I guess."

"I have to make a call first." Stefan said, taking out his phone from his pocket and dialing someone. He brought the phone to his ear, waiting patiently, when Caroline heard someone say "Hello?" on the line.

"Damon." Stefan said.

"Stefan?" Damon questioned, unsure.

"Yeah."

"Hi. I guess. Why are you calling me? It's been a year, Stefan."

Stefan sighed. "I know. Listen, I'm heading to Mystic Falls." He said, without a single trace of patience.

"Really?" Damon said, surprised. "Why?"

"I'll explain it better when I arrive, but listen. I need you to call Bonnie, Rebekah, Jeremy, anyone, everyone. I need their help."

"Oh, God, Stefan. What the hell did you do now?"

"I told you, I'll explain it better when I arrive. Please, just do that for me. It's important."

Damon sighed. "Fine. I swear to you, if you're about to drag me down into your bull-"

"That's exactly what I'm doing. I mean, I figure you're being my brother and  _all_ , I could at least count on you when I needed help. But if I'm wrong, just let me know, I'll turn back and you won't be bothered by me ever again." Stefan grunted, already annoyed - Damon really did annoy him easily.

"Jesus, you're moody."

"Very funny. I gotta go now. See you soon." Stefan said and ended the call.

Caroline was still unsure of how to react. It would be relatively safer, yes, since a human and  _one_  vampire are definitely weaker than a human and a dozen other vampires together. She was already in terms with the whole vampire situation, but she couldn't help having this uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Lots of vampires. Together. With her. In the same place. At the same time. It made her nervous,  _really_  nervous.

What was Caroline getting herself into?

* * *

Caroline decided against being too nosy. And noisy. Instead, she spent the majority of the drive looking out the window, even nearly falling asleep a couple of times, avoiding at all costs to give in to her curious self. She knew Stefan knew what he was doing. She trusted that, at least. He would protect them better than she ever could, he knew where to go, who to go to, he knew all the tricks and the safe places. Still, she couldn't help but think about his decision to go back to Mystic Falls. She was aware Elena was also being threatened - maybe he wanted to make sure he could keep her safe, too? And, yes, it's very obvious: he needed the help. He couldn't take Klaus on his own, not while worrying about the life of a human being - a powerless, weak, easily killed human being. So maybe that was his plan. Not only hide out but actually try something - try to kill him. She couldn't contain her curiosity, now.

"How are you going to kill Klaus?" Caroline asked.

Stefan seemed taken aback by the question. "What?"

"I mean, that's what we're doing, right? Putting the whole vampire family together so that you can kill Klaus."

Stefan sighed. "Not really."

"What?" It was Caroline's time to be taken aback. "Wait. Why not?"

"Because he can't be killed."

Caroline laughed. She laughed, failing to hold it back even she when she tried. But she saw the serious look on Stefan's face and suddenly she felt like crying, and not laughing. "You're not joking, are you?" Stefan shook his head. "But... but how? He threatened to kill you so obviously  _you_  can be killed, so, why can't he?"

"He's a hybrid. Half vampire, half werewolf."

"Wow, okay, no. That can't be true." Caroline said, shaking her head. "Werewolves? You can't be serious! What's next - witches?"

Stefan grinned a little. "We have that, too."

Caroline's eyes widened. "Ghosts?"

"Well, spirits. It happened once. Jeremy got brought back from the dead and he started seeing spirits of his two vampire ex-girlfriends."

Caroline let out another laugh. "Oh my God! And I thought  _my_  life was messed up!"

Stefan nodded. "Exactly."

"Okay, so, basically, Klaus is half werewolf - which means he can't die like a vampire. And I'm guessing that is a stake to the heart, like in the movies?"

"Yes. Well, kind of. Normal vampires, like me, we get killed by wooden stakes. Klaus is an original vampire from the original family. That takes another kind of stake - made from a white oak tree."

"Jesus, it's like I'm back at school." Caroline sighed. "Alright, then, how do you kill a werewolf?"

"By ripping out its heart."

"Brutal." Caroline said. "What if you rip out his heart and then stake it with the white oak tree stake?"

"Yeah, I don't think that would work. Even if it did, 70% of the Mystic Falls population would probably die."

Caroline looked at him annoyingly. "What else is there now?"

Stefan smiled at Caroline's absence of patience when it came to new supernatural facts and rules. "He's an original vampire. When you kill an original vampire, their whole bloodline dies too. And there's no saying whose bloodline you belong to - it's just luck."

"My head hurts."

"At least now you know everything there is to know about vampires!" Stefan said, sarcastically.

"And werewolves. And hybrids. And witches." Caroline laughed.

"And spirits - don't forget the spirits."

They both laughed in unison. Caroline was finally getting to see Stefan smile in a 'I have fun sometimes too' way. She noticed he always had this worried look on his face, like he was always running from something or someone, and she guessed that, most of the times, he was actually running from himself.

She knew the feeling. Being too scared of yourself sometimes, of your thoughts, of your feelings. But most of all, she knew what it was like to be confused. There was no telling if he felt that too, but she did. She was always confused about herself, the people around her, her choices, her life. She changed her mind way too often. She noticed the only thing she wasn't confused about at that exact moment was of Stefan. She didn't change her mind about him, she didn't doubt him. That was definitely a new feeling - a good feeling, she thought. She hoped.

She couldn't understand why Elena would choose Damon over Stefan. She didn't know the guy, she was aware of that, but even so, Stefan was so... genuine. He deserved something good in his life, he deserved happiness - but apparently, fate was against it. Why? She couldn't tell. Caroline had no idea why Stefan suffered so much when all he did was good. Okay, maybe not  _all_  he did, but whatever bad things he did, he carried the guilt and the shame with him all the time and everything he did was to make those bad things right. Then why couldn't he be happy? It wasn't fair.

But then again, Caroline had plenty of experience with unfairness coming from fate and from life. When she compared herself to Stefan, though, she realized how lucky she was.

Looking out the window, taking in the bright blue sky and the fluffy white clouds and the nearly blinding sun that made her eyes hurt even when she wasn't looking directly at it, she noticed a sign far away. As they got closer, she could finally read the words, and it made her heart skip a beat in a jumble of emotions - anxiety being probably the strongest of them.

'Welcome to Mystic Falls', the sign read. Caroline took a deep breath and glanced quickly at Stefan. She hoped things would work out for once. She hoped she would get out of this situation alive. She hoped Mystic Falls wouldn't be the last town she ever visited, and she hoped Stefan wouldn't be the last face she ever saw.

_Help me,_  she thought. But who exactly would help her now but Stefan? 


	8. Chapter 8

For the past five years, the thought of coming back to Mystic Falls had never once crossed his mind. He didn't plan on coming back - not ever. He wanted to forget Mystic Falls and Elena, and though he failed miserably at it for a while, actually coming back was never an option, even when he had had enough with Klaus and wanted to leave him behind.

Being back in that little but nothing short of boring town, driving through the streets and recognizing parks and places and sometimes even people, made Stefan feel almost at home. He didn't think of Elena or of Damon, of the bad things that happened to him five years ago. Instead, he focused on the happy memories. Even before Elena, Mystic Falls was his home, and it made him feel good being back there. That's when he realized how he hated New York and Klaus, how he missed the simplicity of Mystic Falls and the company of the people he loved and cared about.

Except this time, things weren't going to be as simple as they once were. Not for Stefan, not for Caroline, not even for his old friends. He was on the run, desperately trying to find a solution for his problem, trying to keep Caroline safe and trying not to die, too.

"This is a nice town." Caroline said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Stefan nodded, grinning. "It is."

A few minutes later, Stefan was parking in front of his old house. It looked exactly the way it did five years ago, on the day he took his car and got the hell out-of-town with Klaus riding shotgun.

He got out of the car and so did Caroline, while she looked at the house in awe.

"Wow. It's huge." She said.

Stefan smiled, but didn't say anything. He was starting to feel a little bubble of anxiety growing in the pit of his stomach. He had no idea what he would find inside the house.

He walked over to the door, Caroline following him closely, and when he glanced at her he found out the look of awe in her face from earlier had been replaced by one of fear. He stopped, looked at her, and when her eyes found his she took a deep breath, almost like she already knew what was coming.

"Don't be scared. It's all going to be fine." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze.

She smiled and nodded. It was enough to help her calm her nerves - at least that's what it looked like on the outside. Stefan knew better than everyone that you could hide a lot behind a smile and a little nod.

Stefan debated on whether he should knock or simply let himself in. It was his house, after all. It was once his home. But before he could decide what to do, the door opened, and Damon was standing there, with a smile on his face.

"Welcome home, brother!" Damon said, hugging Stefan.

Stefan got quite confused and surprised by Damon's behavior, but decided it would be better not to show it. "Damon!" He hugged back.

"We've missed you." Damon let go of Stefan and walked in the house.

"We?" Stefan said, walking in too, making sure Caroline was behind him.

"Yeah! Everyone. When I called them-" Damon noticed the girl walking along with Stefan. He looked confused. "Who are you?" He said, looking directly at Caroline.

She was looking down when Damon's voice rang in her ears, making her jump and look straight at him. "I-I'm Caroline. Hi." She smiled, trying to cover up her fear.

Damon frowned, looking at Stefan. "Care to explain?"

So Stefan sat down, accepted the booze Damon offered him (it felt just like old times), and told him everything. He made sure to keep out all the deep, 'I want to save her because all this time I've watched Klaus hurt innocent people and I never did a thing and now I feel guilty and I have to make up for it' aspects, mostly because he didn't want Damon minding his business, but also because he would be slightly embarrassed by saying that in front of Caroline. While he was talking, he glanced at Caroline a few times and noticed how terrified she looked. She kept staring at Damon, studying him, like she was waiting for him to attack her while making an escape plan in her mind. He didn't know whether to laugh at her innocence, or to feel guilty for putting her in that situation, so he did both. In his mind.

"Damn, Stefan. Always the martyr when it comes to humans." Damon rolled his eyes.

The way Stefan eyed Damon after what he said probably made him feel almost guilty. Or at least very, very uncomfortable.

"Well," Damon said, getting up, trying to cover up his last mistake. "This is your home, too. Stay here. We'll figure something out - we always do."

Stefan couldn't. Judging by the pair of boots at the corner of the room and the black cardigan folded up in the corner of one of the couches, Elena lived there. So he couldn't. "I think we'd be better off in a motel or something."

"Are you kidding?" Damon laughed. "No way. Your tongueless friend can stay in the guest room. Your room is still intact."

Stefan was about to answer, but Caroline spoke first. "I'm not tongueless." She said, her voice strong enough to mask any trace of fear or anxiety.

"Oh. That's good to know." Damon nodded. "How's your life?" He asked, sarcastically. Stefan rolled his eyes.

Caroline took a deep breath, like she was breathing out fear and breathing in courage, like she was slowly realizing Damon was nothing but a harmless, vampire dick. "It's good. I mean, if you ignore the fact I'm running from an original vampire who wants me, Stefan, and  _Elena_  dead. It's alright."

Damon froze at the mention of Elena. "Excuse me?"

Stefan realized he 'forgot' to mention the part where Elena was also being threatened. Good.

"That's why we're here, Damon. So that we all can find a way to stop Klaus, and no one gets hurt." Caroline said confidently. "Stefan has been nothing but kind to me. He's my friend. And I won't let Klaus hurt him, or anyone he cares about. But I can't do that alone because, you see, I'm nothing but a defenseless human. So  _you_  are going to be my defense."

Damon seemed impressed. "Alright, blondie. Mi casa es su casa." He said, and then turned to Stefan. "I like her."

Caroline smiled triumphantly, and Stefan grinned. Caroline was really something.

* * *

A while later, after Stefan finally agreed to stay at the Salvatore House, Caroline was setting herself up in the guest room while Stefan was silently sitting on their living room, drinking and watching the fireplace. It was almost night already, and he still hadn't seen Elena. He wasn't sure if that was a bad or a good thing. Even though he knew in his heart he was officially, one hundred percent over her, something inside of him was still afraid of what would happen when the time came and he had to see her right in front of him, flesh and blood and bones, greeting him with that Elena smile and her long, brown hair falling down perfectly over her figure.

He hoped nothing would change. He hoped he wouldn't feel like he was still not over her at the sight of her. He hoped he was finally over her, he needed to be over her. He didn't like waiting. He wanted to see her and just get it over with - just get an answer. Yes or no. Yes, I'm finally and officially over her, because I'm seeing her and I don't feel anything anymore and I just want her help in this situation. No, I'm not over her, because she's in front of me and all I want is to hold her and kiss her again. What was it going to be? He was tired of feeling so confused. He wanted a definite answer. He needed it.

"That's quite a friend you got there, Stef." Damon said, breaking Stefan's line of thought.

He nodded. "Yeah. She's quite... something."

"Are you in love with her?" Damon questioned.

He was taken by surprise. "What?"

"Yeah! I mean... are you?" Damon was starting to regret asking it.

"No! I've known her for, like, a week. She's just... I just want to keep her safe, that's all."

Damon sighed. "Fine. I just thought you were. I mean, she's just a human, Stefan. And look what you're doing for her - it's just crazy. You came all the way back to Mystic Falls because you defied Klaus. Klaus! The immortal, original vampire  _and_  werewolf over one little human. There's gotta be an explanation for that."

"There is." Stefan said. "But it sure as hell is  _not_  that I'm in love with her."

"Then what is it?" Damon asked. Stefan closed his eyes and shook his head, unsure if he could really tell Damon everything he was feeling. "Come on Stefan, you can trust me. I'm your brother."

Stefan sighed. "It's just... I feel responsible. For five years, Damon, I've been a selfish pain in the ass, drowning in my problems and ignoring everything Klaus did. He ripped that town apart. He fed on everyone, he hurt people, he turned people. I told myself it wasn't my problem. I let him do whatever he wanted, I only interfered now and then when I saw he left someone to die in the corner of a dark, abandoned alley." Stefan felt the guilt squeezing his insides. "And all because of what? Elena? I was so caught up because a girl left me that I thought it was okay to let other people suffer?"

Damon's expression didn't change at all when he mentioned Elena, which only encouraged him to continue. "And Caroline, she opened my eyes. She was like a big wake-up call, like the punch in the face I deserved but didn't get. He kidnapped her, he kept her hostage to feed whenever he wanted. How could I let that happen? How could I wake up, get out of bed and go on doing normal stuff when an innocent girl was crying in the room next door, in pain, like she was nothing but a source of food?" The thought made the guilt almost unbearable. "I had to do something about it. I said 'Screw Klaus, screw Elena, screw me. She doesn't deserve this. I can do something about it, so I will.', and that was it."

Damon listened to everything Stefan said carefully, showing interest and - the most surprising of it all - he didn't interrupt him to make silly little jokes not even once. Damon had actually matured in those five years. It made Stefan feel even worse.

"It wasn't your fault, Stefan. It wasn't your job to clean up Klaus' messes. In fact, it wasn't your job to be there with Klaus. You should have gone somewhere else. I know - I understand how you felt. Trust me, I'm an expert at feeling like no one cares about you and that you're all alone in the universe. But that wasn't your fault - none of it. And even if you still feel like it's your fault, let it go. Take this girl, keep her safe, do whatever you have to do to get rid of the guilt." Damon said, sympathetically. "Just don't get yourself killed. Or Elena. Or worse - me!" He couldn't help but try to joke. Seeing Stefan so miserable was definitely not in his list of favorite things.

Stefan laughed. "Don't worry, brother. You're safe."

"And so are you. We'll all make sure of that." Damon smiled.

"I believe you."

Stefan felt relieved. He was expecting Damon to become an angry mess after he found out about Elena being threatened. He was expecting Damon to yell at him, to hate him, but instead, he was faced with the reality that Damon had changed much since the last time they talked face-to-face. He knew it was all thanks to Elena, which made him actually kind of happy. All this time, Elena had been the one thing Damon needed to grow up as a person and leave all the hatred, anger and pain behind.

Damon was a different man. He found his happiness, and that's what happens when you find your happiness - you change, you mature, you evolve. Stefan was glad.

Suddenly, Damon's happiness was walking through the door.

"I'm home!" She said.

Both brothers looked at her. She saw Stefan. She froze.

_This is it_ , Stefan thought.  _My answer._

"Stefan." She murmured. "Hi."

"Hi." He said, not sure of what to say and how to act.

"I didn't expect to see you here tonight, I thought you were only coming tomorrow." She said, walking towards him. She hugged him. He hugged her back. He didn't feel a thing. At least not  _the_  thing.

"Yeah," he said, letting go of her. "I was already on the road when I called Damon."

"That's great. Welcome back."

"Thanks." He smiled.

"Well," she said, hugging Damon and kissing his cheek. "I bought alcohol. Damon said you sounded serious on the phone, so, I figured you may need it. And also blood." She dropped the bags on the kitchen counter, the Salvatore boys following her.

"About that..." Damon glanced at Stefan. "We may actually need some real, human food this time."

Elena stared at the brothers, confusion clear over her face. It wasn't until the three of them heard footsteps that Stefan could see Elena finally recognizing the distinct scent mixed up with all the alcohol and the blood in the air. Human.

He got his answer. He was over Elena. He knew that now. Being so sure of that made him blind to the tension in the room. Unfortunately, Caroline was not that lucky. And Damon... Well, Damon was having fun. Too much, even.


	9. Chapter 9

Caroline walked slowly into the kitchen, about to open her mouth to say something when she felt eyes on her, people staring at her so hard she could actually feel the heat and prickle of judgement on her veins.

She looked up, then, a blush already creeping up her cheeks. She recognized Stefan, she recognized Damon. But when her eyes fell upon a beautiful, long-haired brunette, she finally understood what Stefan had been telling her all this time.

_That_  was Elena. She understood it now. Swallowing hard, she continued her way into the kitchen, trying to think of something to say before she reached her destination.

Caroline felt like a lost little kid in the middle of a supermarket crying for her mother. There's no word for that, but she knows that feeling very well, and if she had to explain what that was, she would still go with the supermarket story.

"Hello. I'm Caroline. You must be Elena." She managed to say, still under the Salvatore brothers stare.

Elena's beautiful. She's perfect. Her eyes are brown and big, her skin is sun-kissed and smooth, her hair is long and brown and shiny, her features are so delicate she may as well look like a doll. Caroline felt intimidated by her beauty - and she didn't even know why.

"Yes, I'm Elena." She said, her voice soft and caring. "Nice to meet you, Caroline." She smiled.

"She's Stefan's  _friend_." Damon said, and Stefan threw him a look.

"Wait." Elena looked from Stefan to Caroline. "Where's Klaus? I thought you were staying with him in New York." She questioned.

Damon sighed. "Remember when I told you Stefan was in trouble?" Elena nodded. " _Klaus_  is the trouble."

She raised her eyebrows. "What did you do?" She stared questionably at Stefan.

He stared at the floor. "I'm running from him. With Caroline."

Elena seemed to finally bring two and two together. Caroline was human. Klaus was a vampire. Stefan was the nice guy who saves damsels in distress.

"Damn it, Stefan." She said, almost angrily. "You know him. You know you can't pick a fight with him, you know you can't win!" Her voice was louder now, so Damon threw her a look and she apparently calmed herself down. "I don't even understand why you were with him in the first place."

"It kind of was your fault." Caroline said, the words escaping her mouth before she could hold them in.

Elena looked at Caroline with narrowed eyes.

Stefan was taken aback by the comment, unsure of how to act.

Damon laughed.

"Okay, blondie," He said, raising his hands and walking between the two girls. "It doesn't matter whose fault it is. What matters it: Klaus wants yours and Stefan's pretty little heads on sticks  _and_ by helping you, we're all in danger. So I say we stop pointing fingers and we work together to find a way out of this." Caroline noticed he didn't say anything about Elena being threatened. "Do we all agree?"

Elena was still staring at Caroline, almost as if Caroline had just told a big lie and she was actually offended by it. Nonetheless, she nodded, and when Caroline did the same, she finally looked away.

"So, what can we do?" Elena asked.

"To be honest? I have no idea." Stefan said. "None at all."

Damon sighed. "Neither do I."

"We can't kill him because A) we don't have the dagger and B) we still don't know if we're a part of his bloodline and we can't risk that. So we either try to negotiate, or we help you start running like hell." Elena leaned over the counter.

"I called Bonnie. And Rebekah. And everyone, really. They'll all be here tomorrow."

"Even Rebekah?" Elena sounded surprised. Caroline was once again feeling like a lost kid.

"Even Rebekah." Damon said. "I didn't know it had to do with Klaus when I called her. But really, would it make any difference? She would come anyway. She hates him since the day he decided to leave her to go to New York with Stefan."

"Does that mean she hates me too?" Stefan asked.

Damon grinned. "I don't know, bro. But you better pray she doesn't."

Stefan sighed and nodded.

Caroline was still lost, dying to ask a billion questions and finally feel like she's part of the whole plan, but Elena's presence made her feel uneasy, so she decided to keep quiet and wait until they decided it was too late to do anything right away. It took a while. They kept talking about people Caroline didn't know, about strategies Caroline didn't understand, and Caroline kept wishing it would just end already so she could finally sleep. When she was sleeping, she could pretend none of what was happening was real. She wanted that more than anything right now. Just sweet, simple, undisturbed oblivion.

* * *

"We need you to sign some papers." A woman said, breaking through Caroline's oblivion, bringing her back to the horrible real world.

A confused, sleepy Caroline raised her head from the pillows, her eyes burning when she looked directly at the sunlight coming from the window. "What?" She said, her voice thick from sleep.

"We're kind of giving this house to you." Elena sat on the corner of the bed.

Caroline was awake now. "What?" She said once again.

Elena sighed. "It's a way to keep you safe. Vampires can't enter houses without being invited in, but that only applies to houses owned by humans. As you can see, there are no humans in this house, and you have nowhere else to go. So it's just your name, nothing more."

"Alright." Caroline said, still a little confused.

Elena left the papers and a pen on her bed and disappeared. Caroline rubbed her eyes, did her best to fix her hair with her hands and took a deep breath. She was about to take the pen so she could sign the papers when her cellphone started ringing. She slowly and lazily got up, walking over to her bag - she threw it on the floor when she took out her pajamas before she went to bed -, and tried to find her cellphone between the badly folded clothes Stefan had bought her while she was still Klaus' prisoner. When she found it, she saw 'Mom' written on the visor, and her eyes widened. She completely forgot about her mom.

She pressed accept and brought the phone to hear ear. "Mom?"

"Oh, thank God, Caroline!" Her mother sighed in relief. "Where have you been? I've been trying to call your for three days!"

She had been missing for nearly a week. "Three days?" She tried to hide her annoyance. "Uh, I'm road-tripping. With a friend."

"What friend?" Her mother said.

"Just a friend. From work."

"What's her name?"

"It's a guy, actually. Stefan."

She could feel her mother smiling through the phone. "Does that mean you're over Matt? Oh, splendid!"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Mom. I'm fine. I'm road-tripping. I'll be back in a few weeks. Is that all?"

"Yes. I was worried about you, that's all. So is April, by the way. She called me because she couldn't find you anywhere."

"Hey mom," Caroline said. "Could you please keep April out of this? Don't tell her anything about Stefan. Just tell her I'm okay and that I'm only taking a time off for myself, okay?"

Caroline and April worked together at a coffee shop. She would know Caroline was lying, since there is obviously no Stefan working with them. There are barely any guys, actually. And Caroline isn't close to any of them to go road-tripping with them.

"Sure, honey. Take care."

"Bye."

Caroline's mother hung up the phone, and Caroline suddenly felt sad. The thought that was potentially the last time she would ever hear her mother's voice ever made her want to cry her eyes out and run away. She was quite optimistic when it came to her problems, but this was completely different. This wasn't about a new dress she wanted, or her relationship with Matt, or April's new boyfriend. Being chased down by a vampire that can't be killed - because even if there is a way, it's not happening - makes optimism feel more like denial.

She shook her head as if that was going to help her stop thinking about her imminent death. She had other things to care about, and she was not giving up that early in the game. She signed the papers, changed her clothes, put on her make-up and walked down the stairs, taking deep breaths and cleaning out her thoughts, making sure to focus on the fact that while she was still alive she had at least a chance.

When she walked in the living room, no one was there. "Guys?" She asked, looking around.

"You gotta invite us all back in." Stefan said, and she jumped.

She turned around and saw Stefan, Damon and Elena waiting by the doorstep. She almost laughed at the situation, and she would if it were only her and Stefan, but she was still aware of Elena and Damon's presence, which made her quite self-conscious.

"Come in, Stefan." She said, and he entered the house. "Come in, Damon. Come in, Elena." She actually felt stupid saying that.

"Thank you, blondie." Damon said, blinking and clicking his tongue.

Elena smiled friendly at Caroline. Apparently, her comment from the previous night didn't hurt the brunette as much as Caroline had thought. She breathed out, relieved. She was in too much trouble already to get a new vampire as another enemy.

* * *

After a couple of hours of doing absolutely nothing (or at least  _understanding_ nothing), Caroline found herself sitting in the middle of a freaking supernatural creatures lunch break meeting.

Rebekah and Caleb had arrived first. Caleb was a very handsome guy, with brown hair and brown eyes, and had a sense of humor that went really well with Damon's. She was surprised to find out he was human, but as he liked to remember them, not for long. Rebekah, Caroline soon found out, was Klaus' sister. At first, she didn't understand why Rebekah hated her brother so much, but then she remembered it was Klaus they were talking about, and it became clear he really was as hateful to other people as he was to her, no matter who they were.

Bonnie and Jeremy arrived next, both of them hugging Stefan happily, saying they missed him and that they were glad he was in town again. Their happiness changed to worry shortly after they found out the reason Stefan was back, though. Elena and Jeremy were brothers, Caroline found out, and he was, too, a human. He had a ring to protect himself from any supernatural death, which was already an advantage over Caroline, so she went back to feeling inferior and lost in the middle of everyone.

Jeremy then said someone named Tyler was not coming. Apparently, he wanted nothing to do with this whole 'stop Klaus' plan. Stefan quickly explained to Caroline that last time Tyler went up against Klaus, he ended up losing all his hybrid friends and his mother. Caroline felt sorry for the guy. She would do the same in his situation, so while Rebekah and Caleb judged him, she stayed silent, while her hatred for Klaus only grew stronger.

They all talked for hours. Some strategies - teach Caroline how to defend herself and stay hidden in Mystic Falls until Klaus figures out where they are - were discussed, with Rebekah always rolling her eyes at everyone, saying it would be useless, because Caroline would never be able to defend herself against Klaus as long as she was human.

Everyone else decided to ignore her, though. She sounded like she was suggesting they turn Caroline into a vampire. It seemed like they all had a problem with that, but Caroline surprised herself when she realized she didn't. It would make things so much easier. She would be able to defend herself, to fight, she would have a chance. And it's not just that - she would be young forever. She would  _live_  forever. There was the whole addiction to blood thing, yes, but judging by her fellow vampire companions, that didn't seem like a huge problem.

She almost wished everyone thought like Rebekah.

Bonnie said she would figure something out. She talked about her she's been more connected to the 'spirits' than she's ever been. What that meant exactly, Caroline had no idea. She said she would look for something, anything that would help them.

Caroline finally understood why Stefan came back to Mystic Falls as quickly as he did. He had people here who cared about him, people who would do anything to help him. She was happy for him. Stefan was probably the nicest guy she's ever met in her entire life. She was risking everything - his life, his friends' life,  _Elena's_  life - just to keep her safe. Nobody would do that for her. Only Stefan.

She suddenly realized how lucky she was to have Stefan in her life. She realized that, even though it hadn't been for so long, Stefan had become such a special and important person to her, that she couldn't even imagine what her life was like before he showed up or what would have happened to her if he weren't there. He saved her, and he continued to save her day after day.

There was nothing Caroline could do to make up for that.

But that didn't mean she couldn't try.

* * *

"I know you don't like me, Caroline." She heard Elena say from the guest room's door while Caroline folded her clothes quietly.

Caroline's back was to her. "That's not true." Caroline said, not moving an inch.

"It is, though." Elena insisted. "I can see you care a lot about Stefan and that you hate me for what I did to him. Believe me, sometimes I hate myself, too."

Caroline finally stopped what she was doing, sitting on her bed and looking at Elena. "I don't hate you, Elena. I have no reason to. I just..." She tried to think of what to say, but she failed. She didn't hate Elena. She was angry, yes, and to be honest, she didn't even know why. But she didn't hate her. "I don't know."

Elena nodded. "I know." She sat on a chair that stayed in the far corner of the room. "I feel guilty all the time." Elena said, looking at her hands. "I feel like all this is my fault. Even you."

"I'm not your fault." Caroline said quickly. "If I'm anyone's fault, that's all on Klaus. And besides, if Stefan hadn't been there, I would probably be dead. So you kind of indirectly saved my life. Or at least gave me more time."

Elena gave her Stefan, she realized. All her anger disappeared.

"I'm going to help you, Caroline." Elena said confidently. "Klaus has done so much. Taken so much. Inflicted so much pain. I don't care if I have to die, too. I just want it all to end, you know? I'm tired. He's always showing up one way or another and bringing pain and destruction after him. He killed my Aunt. Her name was Jenna. She and Jeremy were all I had left, and he killed her. He's responsible for so many tragedies in all of our lives. He doesn't even love his own sister. He  _has_  to be stopped."

Caroline looked at Elena sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Elena."

"I am, too." Elena looked like she was in the verge of tears.

Silence fell over them for a while. Caroline wished she was closer to Elena, so that she could hug the girl and give her some comfort. She had gone through a lot, Caroline could tell that. She was a damaged soul. Just like Stefan. Just like Caroline herself.

"We're gonna stop Klaus, Caroline." Elena spoke up. "No matter what the cost. We  _have_  to."

"We will."

Elena got up, walked over to Caroline, squeezed her hands and smiled at her, and then left the room, leaving Caroline alone once again.

Caroline was starting to realize that Klaus had not only destroyed her life - he destroyed everyone's lives too. He brought only pain and suffering wherever he went. These people, these vampires, they all had their stories, they all had their guilt and their pain and their tears. Caroline wasn't alone anymore. She wasn't lost, confused, afraid. She knew where she belonged now - it was here. She may be human, yes. But these people - she felt their pain. She felt their need for vengeance.

She had this normal, boring, almost happy life and it was taken from her. She couldn't defend herself, she couldn't fight for her right to be free, and it was unfair. She didn't ask for any of this - not Klaus, not vampires, not running. But these people - they were also human once. They also had boring, normal, happy lives, and somewhere along the way and down the line, Klaus did something to hurt them deeply, and now they would give anything - even their lives - to stop him from doing the same thing to other people.

She finally understood everything. Stefan's story, Elena's story, everyone's story.

She could relate. She felt the same.

She wasn't just a victim anymore. She would fight Klaus back, no matter how fragile and weak she was compared to all those vampires. But she would die trying, if necessary. She had an objective now.

Stop Klaus.

Help Stefan.

Help Elena.

Help  _everyone_.

Though she still felt like she was putting all of them in danger, she wouldn't be intimidated by Klaus anymore. She would find a way.

Even if it meant dying in the process.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been two weeks since Stefan and Caroline first arrived in Mystic Falls. Stefan didn't hear a single word from Klaus, and neither did Caroline, Damon, or anyone else working on the 'stop Klaus' plan.

In these two weeks, Stefan and Caroline only got closer. He'd take her out to go shopping or to just show her around, anything to take her out of the house for a while. He hated the thought that Caroline couldn't be free to walk around and visit places in fear of Klaus, so he did the best he could to give her as much "normal" as he could. He started teaching her how to fight, how to stake a vampire - because there was the possibility of Klaus sending some low-level vampire to check things out first -, how to defend herself. He did everything in his power to make her as ready as she could be if anything happened.

Stefan and Elena also got closer. They talked a lot. About everything - life, what Stefan did in those five years that he was away, even about Elena and Damon's relationship. Stefan had been afraid at the beginning, doubting that he was really over her, scared that the feelings could come back or that he would hurt himself again. But he was surprised to realize that he didn't love her anymore. He moved on. He had no more romantic feelings for her, which only made it easier to be her friend - which was exactly what Stefan really wanted.

Stefan's relationship with his brother had also improved. More than once, Stefan found himself really thankful for Elena being with Damon for a simple motive: Damon was better because of her. When Stefan told him that he laughed, and trying to turn the attention away from him, he said "You're better now because of Caroline". That took Stefan by surprise. He shook his head, dismissing the thought, even letting out a laugh and changing the subject. He didn't think of Caroline that way. She was beautiful, charming, nice... he could go on forever. If the circumstances were different, he wouldn't deny that there could be some attraction. After all, Stefan was a single, love-free man and Caroline was an attractive young woman - no one could deny that. He found himself often surprised by her. Everything she did, the way she talked, how she was the only one witty enough to reply Damon just as ironically and intelligently as he did when he started to get too funny, how her eyes lit up every time Stefan told her they were going out to visit a new place in the small town, how she said a prayer every night before she went to sleep, how her hair continue to smell like strawberries because she loved the shampoo Stefan bought her so much she bought 5 extra bottles... He  _really_ could go on forever. She was special, she captivated Stefan more than Elena ever did, but most of the time he ignored it and swallowed it down because when they were both in mortal danger, running from an original hybrid and putting so many other people in danger he couldn't afford the luxury of letting himself think of Caroline as anything other than a friend he wants to protect.

One night, Stefan found Caroline drunk in her room - no one called it the guess room anymore -, murmuring to herself and gulping down more and more alcohol in the dark. He had been out with Damon and Elena, buying supplies and visiting Bonnie to check on the progress of her search for something that could help, but he decided to come home earlier, feeling uncomfortable at the thought that Caroline was home alone.

"Caroline, you're drunk!" He said, walking in the room and sitting next to her on the floor, squinting.

"And you're stating the obvious!" She pointed to his face, her voice slowed down by the alcohol.

He laughed. "Yeah, right. Don't you think this is enough?" He tried to take away the bottle she had on her hands, but she refused to let it go.

"I don't think this is enough, Mister Salvatore." She said, protecting the bottle with her left hand. "It's not nearly enough. I'm going to die! I can at least get a little drunk while I'm still alive, ain't that right?" She looked at him, and he felt like he had been just punched in the stomach, and her laugh did nothing but double his pain.

"Hey," He said, his voice failing. "You're not going to die. Why are you saying this?"

She stopped laughing, and he could see her eyes were starting to water up. "We have nothing. No way of stopping Klaus without killing him. No way of fighting him. I am weak! I can't defend myself, and I can't expect you to defend me when you have to save yourself and your friends."

"You are my friend, too. I'm saving you, you know that, right? You're not going to die. I won't let you."

"But what if  _you_  die?" She said, looking at him with eyes full of tears.

"Then I die." She blinked, and more tears fell down her face. "Klaus has to be stopped. And you - you have to live. You have to leave this town, get on with your life. You could go back to Matt. Get a new job, find a new place, have the life you deserve. Because you certainly don't deserve this."

"I don't want to go back to Matt. I'm over him. He was not a nice guy." She said, sniffling. "But you are nice to me. You're so nice, Stefan." She grinned and touched his face. "Nice." She repeated the word, smiling wider. "You don't deserve this life, either. You deserve happiness."

"I'll be happy once I know you're safe and Klaus can't hurt anyone else ever again. That's my happiness."

She removed her hand from his face, and he instantly missed the contact. She took another sip of her bottle and sighed, getting visibly tired. "Elena is so stupid."

"Why?" He questioned, confused.

"I can't believe she chose you over Damon. You're perfect."

Stefan laughed. "I'm not perfect."

"You are." She murmured.

And then she passed out, with her head leaned on her bed and the bottle still in her hand.

* * *

The next day, Caroline walked down the stairs, her hair a mess and her pain written all over her head.

"Does anyone have any aspirin?" She whispered, her hands holding her head.

Stefan looked up from his phone, letting out a laugh at the sight of a hung over Caroline. "In the kitchen cabinet."

"Thanks." She said, walking to the kitchen to take the aspirin.

Stefan got up, following Caroline. "So. Do you wanna tell me why I came home after stopping at Bonnie's to find you nearly passed out on the floor of your room?"

Caroline gulped down some water to help her swallow down the pill. When she was done, she put the glass on the sink and leaned in the counter, sighing. "I was sad."

Stefan nodded. "I could see that. Why?"

She shrugged. "Just life, I guess. Everything that's happening... I think it just took its toll." She looked down, a flash of sadness in her eyes, but just as quickly as Stefan could blink she was looking at him again, grinning. He knew better than trying to touch that subject again. "I don't remember you. Last night, I mean. What happened? I swear, the last thing I remember is finishing my second bottle of whatever kind of alcohol I was drinking and thinking to myself 'I should probably stop'."

Stefan lets out a laugh. "Yeah, well, I came home, the house was stinking of alcohol everywhere, you were sitting on the floor laughing and actually talking by yourself. You saw me and then you just... passed out." He said. He decided to keep their whole conversation out. She didn't need to be reminded of the things she had drunkenly confessed.

"I passed out on the floor?" She asked.

"Yes." Stefan nodded.

"But I woke up on my bed."

"Yeah, I carried you." Stefan said.

Caroline smiled. "Aww, that's adorable." Stefan could feel a blush creeping up his face. "Now you not only run away with me and put your life and your friends in danger - you also carry me to my bed when I'm drunk! Honestly, Stefan. Stop being so nice to me, I might get used to it." She giggled.

"Alright, fine. Next time, you carry yourself to bed, then." He grinned and Caroline started laughing, Stefan shyly joining in.

"What are my two favorite lovebirds laughing about?" Damon suddenly appeared, making both of them jump.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "And I'm out." She said, walking away from the Salvatore brothers.

"Well, you seem angry." Damon said, sitting next to Stefan. "Sorry I interrupted whatever it is you guys were doing."

"No problem, Damon." Stefan fake-smiled.

"So. Last night, after you left Bonnie's place, she had one of her weird, witchy experiences."

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "Witchy experience?"

"Whatever. I don't know and I don't care. But some weird-ass spirits talked to her and apparently, we can do something about Klaus now."

Stefan's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, what?"

"Apparently there's a weapon. Remember when that witch cast the werewolf curse on Klaus? Yes, so, apparently, even though she made the thing  _extremely_  hard to break, she also made sure someone could do something in case he broke it."

"Isn't that the stake?" Stefan asked, looking at his brother with confusion.

"The stake was meant for the original vampires, yes. But the witch that cursed Klaus, she made  _another_  weapon. One that will not kill him - it will only leave him dormant. The spirits have it."

"How are spirits keeping a weapon?" Stefan questioned.

"I have no idea." Damon said. "I don't understand anything about this whole witch thing. I think it's hidden somewhere and they have the location, or I think they have it with them. I don't know, and to be honest, I don't care. Because there is a way out, brother. We don't have to die, Caroline doesn't have to die, and Klaus will still be alive. Which means: everybody wins!" Damon threw his arms up, which made Stefan grin.

"Okay, but wait. First things first. We don't even know what that weapon is. We don't know where it is, we don't even know if it actually works."

"Ugh, quit being so pessimist, would ya?" Damon exclaimed. "Don't worry. Bonnie said she's got it. She'll have more witchy experiences and try to talk to some other spirits and get all the correct information. It's going to work out, you'll see."

Stefan breathed deeply, trying his hardest to be as positive as Damon. "Okay."

* * *

It was late, and Stefan, Elena, Damon and Caroline were all sitting by the fire, Elena and Damon holding a glass of alcohol each, telling Caroline about the weapon that could supposedly leave Klaus dormant. Stefan watched her, hair in a bun, eyes widened in excitement and hands clapping now and then, a smile so bright it almost pained Stefan, because he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong and he wouldn't be able to protect her.

"So there's a way?" Caroline said, smiling. "We can actually stop him and keep everyone else alive?"

Stefan didn't say anything. He kept looking down, staring at the floor. He didn't want to give Caroline hope. He didn't want her to believe everything would end up okay. He was afraid to give her that hope, to put those thoughts into her head only to take it away later. He couldn't count on weapons made by witches, he couldn't count on any of that - he didn't want to. He was a pessimist at heart, but even if he weren't, he still wouldn't be as confident as Caroline and Damon were. It killed him to think that maybe something could wrong, because when he thought about that, he could see Caroline's face, he could see the pain in her blue eyes and the fear and he felt guilty for that. Too guilty.

"If everything goes as planned, yes." Elena said almost indifferently. Stefan admired that. Elena was never too optimistic or pessimist - she was neutral.

"And what if it doesn't?" Caroline questioned, her eyes already less bright. He hated himself even more for that.

"If it doesn't... we just keep on trying." Damon spoke finally, nodding.

Caroline breathed deeply. "Alright, then. Where do we find this weapon?"

"Bonnie doesn't know yet." Elena took a sip of her scotch. "We just gotta wait until she knows its location. When she does, we'll go get it."

Caroline nodded.

"Caroline, you can't get your hopes too high." Stefan finally found his voice. "I mean, it's a possibility. I just don't want you to hold on to this too tight and get disappointed later."

Caroline looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Relax, Stefan." She smiled. "I know."

Damon gave his brother a look, but Stefan chose to ignore it.

* * *

"Why are you so protective of Caroline, Stefan?" Elena questioned him a while later, when he was sitting by himself on the living room couch.

He looked at her, brow furrowed. "Because she's my responsibility."

"She's not."

Stefan blinked. "Yeah, she is. I let Klaus take her. I took her away. I have to protect her now. It's all my fault."

Elena sat next to him, sighing. "What exactly do you think is your fault?"

"Everything." He said. "All of this is my fault."

"And why do you think that?"

"I-" Stefan opened his mouth, but the words didn't come out. Elena kept looking at him, waiting for an answer. "I don't know why, Elena. I just feel responsible."

Elena sighed. "You're looking at this the wrong way. See, Caroline thinks you're a hero.  _Her_  hero. She keeps going on and on about how you saved her, how she owes you her life." The corner of Stefan's mouth quirked upwards at the thought of Caroline saying those things to Elena. "If you weren't there to get her out of Klaus' hands, she would probably be dead by now."

He shook his head. "I shouldn't have let him take her in the first place."

"Do you seriously think you could have done something about that? Klaus won't even  _listen_  to you, you can bet doing what you say is completely out of the question."

Stefan sighed, defeated. "Fine, Elena. It's not my fault, then. But really, where is this going to end? Are we going to find the weapon and stop Klaus with everyone happy and alive in the end? Are we going to keep running for the rest of our lives? Or, is Klaus going to kill all of us, make me pay for running away with Caroline, make you pay for helping me?" His voice was strong, and Elena could feel how guilty he felt just by his tone. "Caroline could be more. So much more. She had a family, a boyfriend, friends. And now what? Now she's right in the middle of the crossfire. It feels like history repeating itself."

Elena knew what he meant. "Don't."

"Yes, Elena. History repeating itself. You were happy. You were human, a whole future ahead of you. I show up, what happens? You lose everything. Everyone keeps dying, you turn into a vampire, you get nothing but pain in the end. It's all my fault."

"No, Stefan, shut up." She said, her voice firm. "Shut up. None of this is your fault. I chose this. I wanted this, because I wanted you. And yes, I lost much, maybe too much, but I'm here. I have Jeremy, I have Bonnie, I have Damon, I have you. I'm happy. And Caroline - she has a chance. If you weren't there, she wouldn't have a chance, but now she has one, and it's because of you." Elena put her hand on Stefan's shoulder. "You have to stop this. All this guilt you hold on to, your stupid idea that everything bad that happens with the people you care about is your fault. You have to stop thinking everyone is going to die in the end, or that everyone is going to leave you. Because when you do that you shut yourself down, you push people away. Five years, Stefan. You abandoned us, all of us. You were so caught up in people leaving you that you left them first. You can't let that happen with Caroline. She needs you. You can't shut her down, you can't try to stop her and change her mind when she finally sees the light in the end of the tunnel."

Stefan nodded faintly, Elena's words hitting him with such strength he couldn't even find the words to try to argue back. "Caroline is human. She trusts people blindly, Stefan, but that doesn't mean she's  _completely_  blind. She's smart. She knows what she's doing, she knows what she wants, and she knows that sometimes life sucks and things go wrong. She understands you, sometimes even more than you understand yourself, and we all can see that. I don't know exactly what's going on, but don't push her away."

"I won't." Was all Stefan could say, his voice barely a whisper.

Elena smiled at him sympathetically. "It's going to work. If it doesn't, we'll figure something out, but for now, we  _all_  have to believe it's going to work."

Stefan watched Elena as she got up from the couch, walking away, leaving Stefan alone with his thoughts and her words still ringing in his ears.

She was right, he finally realized. Elena was right. But still, it was so hard for him to take her words and turn them into real actions. He had been wrong too many times before, he had too many disappointments in his existence to simply start being positive out of nowhere, to ignore all the things that could go wrong.

He couldn't explain it. He didn't know what he would do if anything happened to Caroline. He wouldn't take it. As long as he kept on being skeptical, he could judge the situation better, he could see the bigger picture and know all the possible outcomes, being able to prepare himself for each one. That way, he had a better chance on protecting Caroline than if he gave up and deposited all his faith on the rumored weapon that would save everyone. He wasn't a stubborn person, though. Elena's words opened something up inside him, made him realize something he hadn't before.

He really was pushing people away. He was using them as excuses, as shields to protect himself from pain. He had to stop. He was being selfish once again, but this time, Elena was there to call him off and help him. He was glad he could count on her as a friend now, as opposed to a shadow of his past, a constant reminder of the time he spent in Mystic Falls where all he experienced was pain and heartbreak.

He would always help Caroline. He would always look out for her and protect her, and he would always feel like her safety was his responsibility. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't his fault. Maybe he really did everything he could to protect her, maybe he could have a way of stopping Klaus. He had the chance to do something now, and he would not let her get hurt, not ever again.


	11. Chapter 11

Caroline had always been a positive person when it came to other people. If something went wrong for one of her friends, she'd be the first to smile brightly and say 'Hey, don't worry, you can fix this.', no matter how bad things looked like. Being positive about putting Klaus to sleep for all eternity would be a problem for the old Caroline, but that girl lived in New York and lived her life as normally and boringly as humanly possible. She was a new person now.

Caroline noticed Stefan was the opposite, though. He didn't show any sign of happiness or relief at the news, nor any hope that things were going to go the way they planned,  _nothing._ After spending so much time with Stefan, Caroline was finally close to understanding him as a person. Sometimes she got scared at just how quickly she could tell what Stefan was feeling. When he told her to keep her hopes in a safe level, she could read his eyes and his face so well she might as well be a graduate in the Stefan University. She knew what he meant. She knew he was afraid of failing her, Elena, Damon, and everyone helping him. She knew he felt guilty and she knew he would feel even worse if he went around giving everyone hope for something that could possibly go wrong later.

Why did Stefan hate himself so much? Why did he give himself absolutely no credit for the good things he did? Why did he choose to see only the bad things, the things that filled him with guilt and made him so damn self-loathing? Caroline sometimes wished she could manually put some sense into his head. She kept using this word, this  _damn_  word to make him see that he's not a bad person, but he didn't seem to take the hint. " _Nice, Stefan. You are nice. You are the nicest damn person I have ever met in my life. Look at what you're doing for me. You're not bad. You're nice. You're freaking nice, Stefan! Why can't you see it? Why?"_  She mentally screamed at him every time he looked at her with those green eyes filled with pain, guilt and self-loathing.

She remembered everything about the night she got drunk. She did it because she was lost. She knew she was the guilty one, she knew Stefan was in this mess because of her, but she couldn't get him to see it. If he could just realize that Caroline was the problem, if he could just leave her and run away, maybe he'd live and Elena and Damon and Bonnie and Jeremy and everyone would also live and she would die, because that's who Klaus really wanted: her. She brought everyone into this mess because she's a helpless, scared little human girl who needs a dozen of supernatural creatures to keep her safe because she can't face her own freaking destiny.

She did, however, regretted being so honest with Stefan that night. The thought that she drunkenly admitted she thought Stefan was perfect made her blush so hard she swore her skin would just fall off or something. She couldn't control herself, it just came out. So for the sake of her friendship with Stefan, she decided to pretend her memory was fuzzy and she didn't exactly remember what she said. She didn't need the awkwardness that would surely take place if she told Stefan she said he was perfect when she was drunk because she actually did think Stefan was perfect.

As far as perfection went, of course. She knew he had flaws, she knew he had a dark side and she knew he had problems too. But for her, he was still perfect.

"So blondie," Damon's voice invaded the room, making Caroline jump a little. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"I don't have a boyfriend." She said, visibly annoyed.

Damon sighed. "Fine, then. Where's Stefan?"

"I think he went over to Bonnie's or something."

"Oh." He nodded. "So what's up?"

Caroline frowned. "Why are you trying to have a conversation with me?"

Damon raised his eyebrows and his hands. "Is that a crime?"

"No, I didn't say that. I just asked why."

"Because I want to."

Caroline scoffed. "Alright, then."

Damon nodded, grinning. "So what's up?" He asked.

"Nothing, really. I'm just waiting for Stefan."

"Hm."

"What's up with you?" Caroline asked.

"Nothing. I'm just talking to you."

"Hm." She said, mimicking him.

They kept looking at each other, nodding and smiling uncomfortably. "Okay, this is awkward." Caroline said, finally.

"Yes. Very." He agreed. "It shouldn't be. We've been living together for a while now."

"We've never really talked, though. I mean, without Stefan or Elena around."

"I know. Weird." Damon sighed. "Okay, um..." He thought for a few seconds and then snapped his fingers. "What do you think about our secret weapon thing?" He questioned.

"I think it's great. I mean, Stefan told me not to get my hopes too high, but I'm confident it will work. I mean, Bonnie is a witch. Witches know stuff."

Damon scoffed. "Witches know nothing."

"They know more than you, apparently."

"Ouch." He said, putting his hand on his chest. "Seriously though. I'm confident, too. It's about time we find a way to stop Klaus without busting off our asses along with him. He's done enough already."

"I agree. You know, Stefan-"

"Wow." Damon interrupted her. "This is like, what, the fourth time you've mentioned Stefan and we've been talking for two minutes."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Definitely more than two minutes."

"Whatever, blondie. What matters is: why are you so obsessed with my brother?" He asked, mockingly.

"Oh my God, Damon, seriously?"

"What? You started it!"

"You too keep mentioning Elena all the time." She defended herself.

"But she's my  _girlfriend_." He said, emphasizing maybe a little too much on the word  _girlfriend_.

"And Stefan is my  _friend_. Probably my  _best_  friend right now."

Damon scoffed. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

Caroline shook her head, huffing. " _As I was saying_ , Stefan told me about how Klaus killed a lot of people you know. Elena's aunt, Tyler's mom... I just don't understand why he would do all of those things. At first I thought it was because he's a vampire, but you guys are all vampires too, and you're not like him."

"Klaus is different. Bad different. He's lonely, desperate. He did a lot of crap and instead of trying to make up for it, he just keeps on crapping up more stuff. I didn't understand him, either, until he asked Stefan to go to New York with him. He actually  _asked_. I think that he hates being alone, and that even though he knows the reason why everyone hates him, he doesn't wanna change."

Caroline nodded. "It's a pity. No one likes being alone. But some people, they just... don't do anything to deserve other people's love and concern. Klaus is just one of those, I guess."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Stefan isn't one of those, I suppose."

Caroline grinned. "No. He's not."

* * *

"Bonnie got a location." Stefan announced, walking in the boarding house.

Damon appeared quickly. "Where is it?" He asked.

"In a spell-protected cave in the middle of the woods." Stefan replied.

"Spell-protected? Protected from what?"

Stefan sighed. "Supernatural beings."

Damon's eyes widened. "All of them?" Stefan nodded. "Even witches?"

"Even witches."

"Well, that's just great." Damon said sarcastically. "How are we going to get it?" He asked, and Stefan shook his head, sighing.

"I can get it. I totally can." Caroline said, nodding as she spoke.

"Caroline I-" Stefan sighed. "I don't know. It's too dangerous."

Caroline scoffed. "Come on. The cave is protected against all kinds of supernatural beings. How is that dangerous?"

"I'm not saying that the cave is dangerous, Caroline. I'm saying that it's just dangerous. I don't want you there."

"I'm not asking for your permission, Stefan." Caroline spoke.

Stefan took a deep breath. "Caroline, please. Stay here. It's safer for you, the house is in your name, you have to invite vampires in. We don't know what Klaus is doing or where he is. What if he finds out what we're planning and decides to pay us a surprise visit? I can't take that risk."

"How are you going to get in the freaking cave? Because as far as I'm concerned, everyone in this town is a supernatural being."

"Jeremy isn't." Damon said, and suddenly Caroline remembered both Damon and Elena were also in the room.

"Not gonna happen." Caroline said firmly. "I'm not risking it. I don't want to bring anyone else into this, I don't want Jeremy risking his life for me, I don't even like the idea that you are all being hunted by Klaus just because you're helping me. I'm not going to sit back like a rich little princess, watching all these people get hurt and possibly die for me while I paint my nails."

"Caroline-"

"Don't 'Caroline' me, Stefan. I get it, alright? I get it I'm not strong, I get it I don't have vampire speed and vampire strength and vampire whatever, I get that I'm a fragile little human being but guess what? I don't care. I want to fight. And if I die? At least I died fighting. I don't want to keep acting like a scared little kitty, I'm done. Klaus can go screw himself if he thinks I'm afraid of him. And you can also go screw yourself, Stefan, if you think I'm going to let you put yourself  _and_  the lives of the people you love in danger because of  _me_."

The room went silent then. Damon had an amused grin on his face, Elena was still and silent, and Stefan stared at Caroline, his features full of worry and, again, guilt and self-loathing. She wanted to slap all that away.

"Well," Elena interrupted the silence a few moments later. "I guess it's decided, then. We'll go tomorrow."

Caroline nodded and started walking away, catching Stefan's eyes for a second before walking up the stairs.

* * *

"Caroline's a big girl, Stefan. She can take care of herself." Caroline's attention was captured by Damon's voice in the hall.

"Really? She's human. Can she really take care of herself when there's an original vampire wanting to kill her?" Stefan argued, his voice angry.

"Dude, you gotta stop. I get it, alright. You wanna protect her, you feel responsible, great, that's typical Stefan, but you can't chain her to her bed while you go on a suicide mission, dragging down Jeremy and Bonnie and whoever else is willing to help with you. You gotta give her a chance to do something because this is her life, and she's in this just as much as you and I." Damon argued back.

She could hear Stefan sighing through the door. "Look, Damon, I can't do it. I can't put her life in danger like this." His voice softened. "If something happens to her I... I won't be able to handle it."

"Relax, Stefan. Nothing is going to happen. We trained her, remember? Plus, she'll have like, 4 vampire bodyguards if we convince Rebekah to come with us. Don't forget the witch."

Stefan replied his brother with a breathy "Okay", and Caroline heard the door to Stefan's room open and then close, while footsteps could also be heard walking down the stairs.

Caroline breathed deeply. Damn it, Stefan.

She started thinking about how Stefan still blamed himself for what was happening even after practically everyone told him he was not the one to blame. She started thinking about the fact Stefan wanted so desperately to keep her safe he was willing to put his own life at risk, like he meant nothing to no one. She got really, truly angry, and before she knew it, she was knocking on Stefan's door.

"Come in." She heard him say. She twisted the doorknob, her heart racing on her chest. When he saw her, he furrowed his eyebrows and got up from his bed, where he was sitting with a book in his hand. "Caroline, what are you doing here? You've never been to my room before."

It was true. She would notice the room better, she would find little things and details that made Stefan's room  _his_  room, but she was too angry to look around. "Why do you keep doing this?"

Stefan narrowed his eyes. "This... what?"

"This. This whole 'Caroline is fragile and I'm the one who has to keep her safe' thing." Stefan finally understood what Caroline was talking about. "Why do you keep doing this? Blaming yourself like this, carrying all the weight by yourself, taking all the guilt."

"It's not like that."

"Yes, it is!" Caroline's voice sounded louder than she had planned. "Stefan, I can't deal with this anymore. You need to understand that I'm not helpless. You need to stop blaming and hating yourself. Just-just stop it!"

"I already did." Stefan said, quietly.

Caroline scoffed. "Are you joking? Yeah, you're joking, you gotta be. Because Elena said it, Damon said it, I said it: this is not your fault, I am not your responsibility. You keep doing this - involving other people, putting them in danger because you think I'm weak. You blame yourself and when someone says you shouldn't, you say you understand that it's not your fault, but you don't. You keep blaming yourself and it drives me mad!"

"It shouldn't drive you mad because it's my life. My decisions, my guilt, my fault. You have nothing to do with it, you're merely a victim."

"I may be merely a victim, yes, but I'm not  _your_  victim, Stefan." Caroline took a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

"I know that. I do." Stefan said calmly. "But Caroline, try to understand. I care about you. You  _are_  my responsibility, it doesn't matter if it's my fault or yours or Klaus'... I can't help it. I have the opportunity of keeping you safe, so that's what I'll do. I won't let you get hurt, and that's it."

Caroline's features softened. "Stefan... I appreciate that. But I care about you, too, and I don't want you to get hurt either."

"I'm a vampire, you're human, and  _you_  don't want  _me_  to get hurt? Come on."

Caroline laughed slightly and sat on Stefan's bed, sighing. "It's a bad habit, I know, but I always end up caring more about other people than about myself."

Stefan sat next to her, putting his left arm around her shoulder. "That's actually one of your qualities."

Caroline smiled and leaned on his shoulder. "Do you think we're gonna get through this alive?" She asked, and Stefan rubbed her shoulder with his left head.

Stefan nodded. "Of course we will."

And she believed him.

 


	12. Chapter 12

The exact location of the cave that held what you could call 'everyone's last hope' was still a little confusing to Stefan. Bonnie said she would go with them and when Stefan tried to stop her, she said that if they didn't let her go with them she wouldn't say where the cave was, which unfortunately left Stefan with no way out. He didn't want Bonnie involved in this. He didn't want to drag anyone else into all this, he feared something would go wrong and he'd have to watch all these innocent people die because of him, once again.

But he knew better than to go against Bonnie. So instead of arguing, he agreed, and hours later he was in the middle of the woods just outside Mystic Falls, following Bonnie, while Caroline, Stefan and Elena did the same. They had been walking around for approximately 30 minutes now. He could already tell Caroline was extremely tired, but when he asked her if she wanted to stop for a while, she simply shrugged and said "No way". She was so determined, Stefan thought. He admired that in her, too.

He still insisted to carry her bag for her, and he was way too stubborn for Caroline to say no, and she really was tired, so she handed him her bag anyway and continued the journey. Damon gave his brother another one of his knowing looks, and Stefan responded the way he always did: rolling his eyes and ignoring it.

"Bonnie, are we close?" Elena asked.

"I'd say we're twenty minutes away." Bonnie replied.

Caroline's eyes widened. "Twenty minutes?" She asked, her breath rapid. "Alright, I think I'm gonna have to stop for a little while."

Stefan grinned because he knew it was coming. Caroline was the kind of girl who liked to mask every trace of weakness and pretend she was oh so strong, but he looked right through her walls and knew she was just as fragile as the girl next door. Especially when she was, well, human.

She stopped, then, sitting on the floor, taking deep breaths. Stefan could listen to her quick heartbeat, and he realized she was, in fact, very tired, with drops of sweat falling down the sides of her face. He took out a water bottle from her bag and handed it to her.

"Thank you." She said, opening the bottle and drinking it so fast Stefan couldn't help but let out a giggle.

She noticed it, and looked at him with furrowed brows. "What? I'm human. I get tired."

He laughed. "I know, I'm sorry, it's just funny."

"Being a vampire must be really cool." Caroline said before taking one last sip of her water. "You don't get tired, you're strong, you're fast, you can hear things that are miles away, you don't get old and you're practically immortal. Not to mention the whole compulsion thing - that's probably the best part."

Stefan nodded. "Yeah, when you look at it that way... It is kind of cool." He said, the word ''cool'' feeling funny in his lips. He didn't use that kind of language. At least not before he met Caroline.

"What other way is there?" She questioned.

"Oh, I don't know... Probably the thirst for blood thing. The intensified feelings of guilt, pain, hate, anger. It can also get pretty lonely when you live for hundreds of year."

Caroline shrugged. "I still would accept all that if it meant I could get all the awesome parts of being a vampire."

"Being human is..." He fumbled for the right words. He had to make her understand. "You don't realize it at first, but after you become a vampire, being human is everything you want." He said, looking down.

"You're kidding, right? Humans are lame. Look at me! I can't defend myself, I've been walking for 30 minutes and my chest already feels like it's going to blow up. We spend years working our asses off for money and material stuff because if we don't we'll probably die of hunger or thirst or we won't have a place to live, literally every single thing can kill us in the blink of an eye, we get old and ugly and then suddenly we're dead. Humanity is way too overrated in your vampire world, Stefan."

"Does that mean you want to be a vampire, blondie?" Damon asked, making both Caroline and Stefan realize they weren't alone in the woods.

Caroline looked at Damon as if he had just asked a depressed and suicidal person if they wanted to jump off a bridge. So obvious, yet so unthinkable. "I don't know. I'm just saying that being a vampire is not as awful as Stefan makes it up to be."

"I agree." Elena said. "I didn't want to be a vampire at first, but now... I don't miss being human. Not even a little bit."

Stefan shook his head. He didn't want to be having that talk. He didn't like being a vampire, he would give anything to be human again, so why was Caroline saying all of that?

"I miss being a human. I can't exactly tell you why, but I just do. Sometimes. And then some weird ass original vampire tries to kill my brother and suddenly I thank God, or whoever the hell is out there, that I'm a powerful, strong, badass supernatural being." Damon said, and Stefan was surprised by his brother's confession. Damon was never the kind of guy to talk about his feelings so openly.

Elena liked being a vampire. Damon talked about his feelings. Apparently, things changed a lot around Mystic Falls since the day he left.

"Can we stop with the vampire talk, please?" Bonnie spoke up, breaking Stefan out of his thoughts. "Are you rested now, Caroline? Because we really need to keep going."

Caroline nodded and got up. "Yes, Bonnie. Let's go."

Bonnie resumed her walking and Caroline followed her. Stefan watched Caroline for a few seconds, still taken aback by her comments on vampires and humans. Stefan had been wishing for his humanity back for as long as he could remember. Caroline was human, and she saw it as nothing but a burden to be carried around. They had to disagree on something, after all.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Stefan found himself staring at a big and quite boring cave. It had absolutely nothing special about it. It was dark, covered by trees and rocks, and if he didn't know a weapon made by a witch was located in there, he'd walk right past the cave, not even bothering to take a second look.

"This is it, then?" Caroline said, almost ironically. "I thought it would be more... magic. I don't know, like... with witch stuff."

Stefan laughed. "They can't exactly draw a lot of attention to the place where such a powerful weapon is hidden, can they?"

"Yeah. That makes sense." Caroline nodded.

"How are we sure this cave is really protected against supernatural beings?" Damon asked.

"I don't know." Bonnie shrugged.

"You don't know? Wow. Awesome." Damon walked over to the cave, about to enter it when suddenly he was thrown back with such strength, he hit a tree close to Elena, whose eyes widened.

"Oh my God, Damon, are you okay?" She crouched down next to him, while he got up, grunting.

"I am, yeah. Ouch." He touched his head. "Damn it, witches!" He yelled out, looking at the sky.

"Well, I guess that confirms it." Caroline said, about to burst into laughter.

Damon looked angrily at Caroline. "Yeah, I guess it does."

"Alright." Bonnie said. "You'll have to go in alone. I have no idea where the weapon is, so you'll have to look for it yourself. Everything you say will be heard by these vampires with super-hearing, which is good, but you won't hear anything."

"Okay. Can I go now?" Caroline asked, eager to get that task over with.

Bonnie nodded and Caroline smiled, walking over to Stefan to pick up her bag. He was having a hard time concealing his worry.

"Stefan, I'm gonna be fine." She said.

Stefan nodded. "I know. Just be careful, okay?"

"Come on, the only thing that can possibly attack me in there is a human, so I won't be in any disadvantage. I'll get the weapon, get back, and we'll go home."

The fact she said  _home_  made Stefan's features soften and his fear got washed away by her positiveness. He was at a loss of words, so he simply nodded and smiled, and then watched as Caroline entered the cave, praying that everything would go the way they planned.

* * *

The first thing Caroline saw when she entered the cave was light coming from a torch hanging from the right wall of the cave. She made a note to thank Bonnie later. She took the torch, following a somewhat dark path that led her to the subterranean part of the cave, and she started actually laughing because the situation she found herself in was like so many other she had seen in movies. It was ridiculous to think that Caroline Forbes was carrying a torch while searching a cave for a weapon that would put an original vampire to sleep. Oh, what had her life become?

She carefully stepped on the floor, avoiding any pointy rocks or loose steps. It wouldn't be such a fun idea to trip and fall over in the deep darkness of an abandoned cave.

She looked around the cave, trying to illuminate her surroundings enough so she could see every single detail. She squinted when she saw an old, grey box with black strips sitting in the middle of two big rocks. "I think I see something." She said.

As she got closer, things got clearer, and she realized that was, in fact, what she was looking for, judging by the fact the black strips were actually foreign writings. For a while, she didn't know if she should take the box with her or only the weapon, but she realized Bonnie would probably be able to read whatever was written in there, so she picked up the box carefully, waiting for a second to see if anything was going to happen. "I got it."

She was about to leave that part of the cave when everything around her started shaking, almost like an earthquake, and a gust of wind blew her torch out. How was there wind when she was freaking underground? There were so many things she still didn't understand. She'd have to ask Bonnie later. Her heartbeat started racing. "Uh, I think something's happening."

She couldn't see a thing in the dark but the shaking only got worse, so she decided to try and make her way back to the exit of the cave. She tripped once, twice, and she fell over on the third time. "Damn it." She said, getting up and retrieving the box. "Witches, I'm human! I really need your weapon thingy so please stop with all this shaking, I'm pretty sure I'm getting a bit claustrophobic in here! Even thought this cave is like, huge. But it's still very dark and frightening. Come on!" She yelled, knowing she probably sounded pathetic, but still not caring at all.

She successfully made her way out of the underground part of the cave, a breath of relief escaping her mouth when she could see the light of day outside.

* * *

Stefan finally saw Caroline leaving the cave, and he sighed, relief washing over him. For a moment, he got so worried he almost forgot he couldn't enter the cave, and he was ready to get in when he heard Caroline talking to the witches. That alone made him giggle and realize Caroline wasn't really in any danger.

"It's here." She said, showing the box to everyone. "Now  _this_  is what I meant by magic."

The box was old and grey, full of writings in black that made absolutely no sense to him. Bonnie got the box out of Caroline's hands, taking a quick look at the symbols and putting it inside her bag. "We shouldn't open it in here. Let's wait until we're back in Mystic Falls."

They all nodded, and Stefan caught Caroline's eyes. She smiled at him, her eyes reassuring him that yes, she was okay and that no, nothing bad happened. He was wrong, she was right.

He didn't mind being wrong when that meant Caroline was safe and sound. He didn't mind it at all.


	13. Chapter 13

It was raining. Caroline had been staying with the Salvatores for a little more than a month, and she had never seen rain up until that day. Even though she was a happy and bubbly person, Caroline loved the rain. She sat on the Salvatores' porch, a cup of hot tea blowing steam in her hands, and stared at the drops of rain falling from the clouds.

She had successfully retrieved the one weapon that gave her a chance to get out alive. Get out of what, you ask? Caroline didn't even know anymore. At first, in the first week or so, she had one goal: survive and get back home. She thought that would always be her plan. But day after day and week after week, Caroline found herself actually enjoying Mystic Falls and the people in there.

She had gotten extremely close to everyone. Elena and Bonnie became her best friends, and she couldn't even understand why; Elena was a vampire and Bonnie a witch. Behind all that, though, they were honest, caring people, and Caroline couldn't help but enjoy being around them.

Damon was hard at first, but Caroline had a special talent for that kind or personality. She knew how to approach hard people, she knew what to say and how to act, she knew where to start and where to stop. Eventually, they got close too, and Caroline had yet another reason to stay in the little town.

She wasn't exactly close to Rebekah, though. Part of that was the girl's choice to not get too involved. Caroline knew Rebecca loved her brother just as much as she hated him, and that made things more difficult to deal with. She didn't blame her, though. She accepted it, quite gladly. One less innocent creature to get dragged down her problems.

All these people were important to her. They stopped their plans, their lives, everything to keep her safe. They barely even knew her, yet they risked their safety to help her. How could she abandon them that easily?

And most importantly, how could she abandon Stefan?

After everything he did for her, after everything he sacrificed, Caroline could and would  _not_  leave him. Not unless he asked her to. It was a possibility. Maybe after it was all said and done, he would want her to go away and not bring any more problems into his life. That scared her. She didn't know why, exactly, but the thought of Stefan wanting her to disappear out of his life made her feel like someone was knocking the air out of her lungs. After a month of complete silence from Klaus, maybe he was tired. Maybe he got sick of being so scared all the time because Klaus could show up any time and kill everyone.

Maybe he just wanted her to leave already.

"Hey." Someone said, sitting in the chair next to her. "Are you alright?"

Caroline raised her head, locking eyes with the person sitting next to her, even though she knew who it was before she saw them. "Hi, Stefan. I'm fine. Why do you ask?" She furrowed her brows. Stefan had been getting way too good in knowing how she felt.

"I don't know." Stefan shrugged. "You're all alone in here, staring at your cup, complete silence. That's not like you at all."

Caroline chuckled. "Even I enjoy some silence now and then."

"When you're worried about something, you do." He insisted, determined in finding out what was in Caroline's mind.

"You know me too well." Caroline sighed.

Stefan nodded. "I do." He grinned. "Now talk."

Caroline took a deep breath, setting her now nearly cold cup of tea on the little table nearby her and Stefan's chairs. "I'm just doing some thinking."

"About?" He asked.

"About what's going to happen when all this is done."

Stefan tilted his head slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I just keep asking myself, you know. Where I'm going to go to, what I'm going to do. What  _you're_  going to do."

Stefan nodded. "Well, you'll go back to New York. I'm going to stay here. You'll live a long, happy life away from all this supernatural madness and I'm going to... keep out of trouble."

"That's the thing, though. After all I have seen, Stefan, I can't just go back to New York and live a long, happy life."

"It hasn't been all that traumatic for you, has it?" He questioned, worried.

Caroline shook her head. "I'm not traumatized, Stefan. I'm... interested."

"Interested? In what?" Stefan asked, even though he already knew the answer to that question.

"In what it's like to be a vampire. Live forever, never get old, travel, do things,  _live_. I'm never going to be happy, Stefan. Humans don't get to be happy. They get sad, angry, frustrated, broken, hungry, cold, lazy, and sometimes, if they're lucky, they get to be okay. But happiness? That doesn't exist. Humans talk about happy endings, but everything ends in death. How is  _that_  happy?"

"You sound way too dark right now."

Caroline smiled. "I know. It's just one of those days I get all deep and emotional, and I start thinking about how much being a human sucks after you've discovered all the privileges of being a creature of the night."

"When you've lived a happy and full life, death doesn't mean anything. You go because it's your time to go. You have no regrets, so you go happily."

"And that happens to, what, 1 person every 10,000? Stefan, that doesn't make any sense. You can get mugged and murdered. You can get raped and murdered, you can get a terrible disease and die agonizing in pain. There is absolutely nothing happy about death, not even when you've had a relatively happy life."

"You say that because you're human."

"And you say that because you're a vampire. You've been a vampire for so long, you forgot how much it sucks to be human."

Stefan stayed silent. Caroline realized she probably talked too much. "I'm sorry." She breathed out.

"It's okay."

"I have really strong opinions sometimes. And I'm really stubborn. That's not so good when it comes to a vampire versus human discussion."

Stefan grinned. "I think it's a good thing."

"Thanks." Caroline smiled, and Stefan smiled back at her, his eyes gleaming.

There was a slight pause between them, and then Stefan cleared his throat, raising his eyebrows. "What else?"

"What do you mean, what else?" She looked at him confusingly.

Stefan sighed. "You're still worried about something."

"I'm not."

"You are."

Caroline avoided Stefan's gaze. She didn't want to talk to him about how she fears he wants her away from him. She knew, though, he would find a way to get it out of her one way or another. It didn't stop her from fighting against it. "I'm  _not_." She repeated.

"You  _are_." He insisted. "Tell me."

There was no point in lying, she knew that. So she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm afraid you won't want me around anymore after all this."

Stefan laughed.

Laughed, loud and clear.

Caroline couldn't help but laugh too. Stefan laughing was something else entirely. It filled Caroline's ears and made her happy instantly, and the only thing she could do was join him, even though her laugh was shy and unsure.

Stefan stopped laughing, and, almost breathless, spoke. "You're not serious, are you?"

Caroline looked down at her lap. "I am."

Stefan clenched his jaw. "You shouldn't say that." He said, almost offended. "Caroline, you're... you. How can I not want you around?"

She bit her lower lip, suppressing a smile. "I just thought that maybe you'd want me to get the hell out of your life, you know? All I do is put your friends in danger and put  _you_  in danger and talk a lot."

"You snore, too. Loudly."

"Shut up!" She shoved him in the arm playfully. "I'm not joking."

Stefan took a deep breath and looked at Caroline. "Caroline, I will always want you around. That's never going to change, ever. I'm so glad I met you, no matter how messed up the circumstances were." His eyes were gleaming, Caroline noticed, and she couldn't help but grin. "I want to keep you safe, though. The safest place for you is away from me. But I will never push you away or say I don't want you here."

"Promise?" Caroline asked, biting her lower lip.

Stefan nodded. "Promise."

And then Stefan smiled in a way that made Caroline's stomach feel funny.

 _'Oh, God.'_ She thought. ' _Are these butterflies?_ '

* * *

Caroline liked to take pride on the fact she was a good liar. She could be an actress, even, if you consider all the body work she has to do to make a lie convincing.

When she noticed those stupid butterflies, when she looked at Stefan's smile and eyes and felt like she was seeing something entirely different in him, she acted. She lied. She continued her conversation with Stefan, talked about Elena, Damon, the weather, anything that didn't involve any eye contact. She waited until he had to be somewhere else to finally stop, breathe, and try to organize the different thoughts racing though her mind.

Caroline was an adult. A grown woman. She was no naive teenager who felt butterflies flying on the wall of her stomach when she saw a cute boy. Not even three months ago she was in a serious and committed relationship. She was in a house full of vampires, though. So what exactly did she know about life? And about herself?

At that exact moment, though, she knew one thing and one thing only: she felt something. Something different. Something for Stefan. For weeks she had been laughing at Damon's jokes about how Stefan loves her and they're "love birds", in Damon's exact words. For weeks she had been growing closer and closer to Stefan and for weeks she had never once thought about how much she liked having him around and how much she cared about him.

Why was she thinking about it now? She felt something strange the moment her eyes met with Stefan's while he was telling her how much he cared about her, yes. But that could have been anything. Right?

Maybe Caroline was just emotional. Maybe she was emotional and the fact that a handsome, almost too-perfect guy showed concern for her was enough to make her knees go weak, no matter if that handsome and almost too-perfect guy was her friend. Her best friend.

Maybe that was it. Maybe the stress of not knowing where Klaus was and what he was planning was finally taking its toll on her and she was going insane. Maybe life away from her friends, away from Matt, away from her family, was hitting her all at once and the only comfort she had was Stefan's words and it made her feel confused.

Any of those excuses would do. She would believe in anything. Try, at least. She would try to believe in anything that didn't involve the words "in love with Stefan". Yes, that's what she would do. She would tell herself those damn butterflies were just her imagination playing tricks, making fun of stupid little Caroline. That feeling that took over her and made her head spin was nothing more than nostalgia. She missed Matt. She missed being with April and going out and having fun. She missed her old life and the only thing that made her feel like she wasn't vampire food was hanging out with Stefan and talking to him and being close to him, no matter how ironic that sounded.

Because Caroline could and would not give herself the luxury of falling in love. Not even having a crush. No, she wouldn't let it happen. Not in her situation, not when she could be dead in weeks, maybe days. Not when Stefan could be dead just as quickly as her.

The voice on the back of Caroline's mind, though, laughed at her.  _"You don't get to choose who you love, Caroline. Stop being so stupid. You have feelings for Stefan and there's no running away or hiding. Deal with it."_

She ignored it.

But just because you choose to ignore something, it doesn't mean it goes away.


	14. Chapter 14

If anyone walked in on Stefan at that moment, they would probably look at him with brows furrowed and ask him if he had (finally) gone insane.

Stefan sat on a chair, his back leaned on the back of it, his fingers connected, his hands sitting on his lap, and the lines on his forehead were creased. He stared intently at an object sitting in front of him on a table. It was the box containing the weapon that would potentially stop Klaus once and for all. He stared at it, but the longer he stared, the more sure he was he would get nowhere.

He wanted to understand the writings in that silver box. Bonnie read them, and she said it was some kind of ancient language- a witch language- and that she would need a few days to be able to translate it.

He wanted to understand it  _now_.

One of Stefan's best (and sometimes, worst) traits was being patient. He couldn't tell exactly how and when he lost that.

The silence of the Salvatore's Boarding House made Stefan feel uneasy. He had grown so accustomed to all the noise in his home that hearing nothing but the sound of the wind blowing on leaves from a tree on the other side of the street felt so out of the ordinary he couldn't help but feel like something was missing.

Elena had taken Caroline to a shopping trip. The last time Caroline left the house was two days ago, when they retrieved the weapon from the cave, and she was so close to going insane she started begging everyone to take her out. Stefan said no, of course. He didn't want to see her outside the house. It was too dangerous.

But when did Caroline ever listen to him?

When Stefan was about to wonder where Damon was, he heard the front door open. Tired of the silence, he was downstairs in a matter of seconds.

"Whoa, take it slow! Did you miss me that much?" Damon shot him a wry grin.

Stefan left out a light chuckle. "You wish."

Damon sighed happily when he threw himself on the couch. "So, where's barbie to your ken?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

" _Caroline_? She's with Elena. They're out shopping."

"Nice. Our girlfriends like each other. We should be thankful for that, what with our history and everything."

Stefan gave Damon one of his signature icy glares. "She's not my girlfriend. Aren't you tired of making that joke yet?"

"Let me think about that for a second." He said, scratching his chin. "Nope. I can do this forever." He smiled and Stefan shook his head disapprovingly and was about to leave when he heard Damon's voice once again. "Alright, I'll stop."

Stefan turned back, then, smiling ironically. "Thank you, brother." He sat next to Damon. "So, where were you?"

Damon shrugged. "Out."

"Hm. That explains a lot, thank you."

Damon rolled his eyes. "I was just talking to some people. Kind of... compelling them to let me know if anyone strange comes into town. Because unlike everyone else, I actually do remember Klaus is hunting you and your precious human down, so I'm taking precautions."

"We all remember Klaus is hunting us down. We just can't do anything about it, Damon."

"I know, Stefan, I know." He replied.

"Good."

An awkward silence fell in the room, Damon unsure of what to say and Stefan wondering why Damon was suddenly so irritated by their situation.

Stefan knew things would eventually take their toll on Damon. Damon changed a lot in the five years Stefan was in New York, but it didn't mean he became a totally different person.

Damon cleared his throat. "So, um," He got up awkwardly. "I'm gonna wait for Elena upstairs."

"Sure."

Damon glanced at Stefan one last time before disappearing. Stefan felt like someone had just punched him in the guts when he saw Damon's eyes. Damon was tired, angry, and the worst of it all, Damon was scared.

History was repeating itself. Stefan was once more making his brother pay for his mistakes.

But was it really that much of a mistake this time around?

* * *

Stefan heard as Caroline and Elena arrived, giggling and talking as they entered the house, tired from the shopping trip. He was back in his room, writing in his journal. If you could call staring at a blank page trying to come up with the right words writing. They were both happy and it almost made Stefan happy, too, but the look on Damon's face from earlier kept reminding him that things weren't as happy and shiny as he wanted them to be.

"I'm gonna head upstairs, take a shower and get some sleep. I'm exhausted! Who knew Mystic Falls could actually make you tired from shopping?" Caroline said.

Elena laughed. "See? I told you. Mystic Falls may not be a New York kind of town but, come on, it's not that bad."

"When you get past the vampires, the witches, the werewolves, the hybrids and whatever else is out there, yeah, it's not that bad."

"Funny." Elena said seriously and then let out a giggle.

Stefan heard Caroline's footsteps heading to her bedroom. He sat down on his bed, sighing. In a matter of seconds, Elena was in her and Damon's room, with a smile that was shown just in her voice.

"Hey, babe." Damon said, almost ironically.

"Babe?" Elena questioned. "Oh, wow!" There was a pause, and Stefan knew they were kissing.

He decided to stop listening, then, not interested in invading the couple's privacy, but then Elena noticed something was wrong with Damon and when she asked what was it, he sighed, and next thing Stefan knew, he was listening to his brother talk about his feelings like he never had before.

"I'm just tired, Elena." He said. "Tired of everything. Klaus is somewhere right now, plotting, waiting. He might kill us all. I'm not afraid of dying, but this is just unfair. I wake up every morning and I think, 'Hey, I can die today. Elena can die. Klaus can show up and kill everyone', every day, that's my first thought."

Elena sighed. "I'm sorry, Damon."

Stefan could tell she didn't know what else to say, and if Stefan were in the room, he wouldn't know either. "It's not your fault.

 _'It's mine'_ , Stefan thought.

"It's no one's fault but Klaus', I know. He's a jerk. I don't understand why he was so... obsessed with Caroline. What is it with this girl? She's just a human, a powerless, defenseless human, and everyone seems to just get obsessed with her."

"Caroline  _is_  something." Elena agreed. "But I think the reason Klaus is so mad is that Stefan left him. Klaus hates being alone, that's common knowledge. Stefan chose Caroline over him, abandoned him completely. Five years, Damon. Even Klaus had to start caring about someone that had his back for five whole years."

"But still, it always goes back to Caroline. Why did Stefan leave Klaus for her? Klaus threatened him, and he knows Klaus is more powerful than all of us together, yet here he is."

"Caroline is important to Stefan."

" _Very_." Stefan could almost hear in his voice the same look Damon gave him every time he walked in on Caroline and him talking.

Elena giggled. "Yes, very important. And Stefan is also very important to Caroline. They're really fond of each other."

Damon seemed to forget his previous annoyance. "That's an understatement. Have you seen the both of them? They should get it on already."

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Come on. They know it's not a good time to 'get it on'. But I think it's just a matter of right place, right time." Elena said.

"Do you think she's the one? For him, I mean. He hasn't been exactly the luckiest guy in the world when it comes to relationships. Do you think this time it will be different?"

"If you don't end up falling in love with her too, I think they might make it." She teased.

"You're too funny today."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Damon kissed her, and she started giggling.

Stefan stopped listening, then.

He laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He refused to think about what Damon and Elena talked. He didn't want to think about it, he couldn't. But it was like his mind had another mind of its own and those words kept replaying, over and over on his mind, just like a broken record.

Why would they say that? Caroline was not the one for him. He wouldn't, he couldn't think of her as anything more than a friend and someone he needs to protect.

He couldn't make the mistake of falling in love with a human again.

Not again, he told himself.

* * *

The next morning, Bonnie had called early to let them know she had finally translated the writings in the box containing their weapon against Klaus. She was bringing along the weapon, since she had it since the day they retrieved it from the cave. She took pictures of the box and left it with Stefan, but promised to return the weapon as soon as she knew exactly what to do with it.

She arrived a little while after lunch, weapon safely hidden in her backpack laced with a protective spell, and a notebook under her arm. Stefan noticed how happily Caroline greeted her, and how, despite Bonnie's unspoken but always present annoyance at the fact Stefan had yet another human dragged into their world, she returned the greetings just as gladly.

"So, I did some researching." Bonnie said, putting the notebook down, in front of the four pairs of curious eyes rounding her. "I found out what those writings mean. They're an ancient language used by witches. A secret dialect, actually."

"You mean like a secret code between witches?" Caroline spoke up, and Bonnie nodded. "That's cool."

Bonnie smiled. "Anyway," she continued, "These writings are almost like instructions. It says here," she points to the first words of the box, "these exact words:  _If one cannot be killed, one can be put to sleep. Forever, and ever, and for the whole of eternity, a sleep so deep one will mistake it as eternal death. All it takes is one hit; and then, darkness, for as long as the weapon stays in its place._ "

"That works exactly like the daggers, then." Elena said, extremely focused on the notebook.

"Yes." Bonnie replied. "There are also two words in the weapon. They're so small, I almost didn't notice."

"Well, what do they say?" Damon asked.

"It says  _'Heart deep'_."

Stefan furrowed his eyebrows. "Heart deep?"

"We gotta stab him in the heart, and it's gotta be deep." Caroline said, nodding her head.

Stefan couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Okay!" Damon said, slapping his hands together. "We have an apparently functioning weapon, then. What do we do now?"

Elena bit the inside of her cheek, running her hands through her hair, still examining the notebook. At Damon's words she looked up, a determined look in her face. "We wait for Klaus. And then we put him to sleep."

The others nodded, and Bonnie caught Stefan's concerned gaze, giving him a small smile. "We have a way out now, Stefan. It's gonna be fine."

Stefan felt a hand on his shoulder, but it wasn't Bonnie's- they were across the room from each other. He looked to his side and was faced with Caroline, eyes big and blue and staring at him, showing him she genuinely believed everything was going to be okay, trying to comfort him and make him believe things were finally looking up.

He couldn't do anything other than smile at her, thanking her with his eyes. Trying to, at least. Stefan was never good at unspoken signs and untold feelings.

He would try for her, though, because she managed to do it all so effortlessly, he would be damned if he couldn't get to show her he cared.

"Where's the weapon?" Damon asked, breaking Stefan and Caroline's eye contact, without even meaning to.

"It's in my backpack." Bonnie said, pointing at a black and blue backpack sitting next to her on the couch. "I'll get it for you in a minute. You put it back into the box and you hide it, in a  _safe_  place. We can't afford to put it at risk of being found.

"Does Klaus know about this weapon?" Caroline questioned.

"I doubt it." Elena said. "If he did, he would have compelled a human already to get it for him. Klaus wouldn't allow such a weapon to be out of his reach. He's too paranoid for that."

"Let's hope you're right." Stefan said. "As much as he is paranoid, he is also smart. We don't know what goes on inside brain. I'm prepared for the worst."

And he did, in fact, prepared himself for the worst. All this time, that's all he had been doing: waiting for the worst to happen.

He realized he had also become too paranoid to believe they had a way out.

A way that involved everyone happy and safe in the end, at least.

* * *

Someone ringed the doorbell.

Stefan felt his stomach drop.

No one he knew ringed that damn doorbell. Sometimes, he even forgot they had one. People would walk in and out of the house, never bothering to ring the doorbell or knock.

Yet, someone ringed the doorbell, and something inside Stefan knew it was trouble.

Damon thought the same thing, because he motioned at Stefan with his head, telling him to go upstairs. He didn't, though. He decided to only hide himself and watch the whole thing. If he needed to help Damon with anything, it'd be better if he wasn't upstairs.

Damon opened the door, smiling. "Yes?" He didn't recognize the person.

"Hi. Is Caroline home?" A tall, brown-haired guy asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Who?" Damon's voice and eyes didn't falter, not even for a second. Stefan, on the other hand, felt like he was about to throw up.

The man tilted his head, his eyes mocking Damon. "Are you sure you don't know who that is, Damon Salvatore?"

"I am. And I don't know your name."

The man scoffed. "You'll know it soon enough." He turned his back, walking away. But then he stopped and turned to face Damon once again. "Tell Stefan Klaus is coming for him."

He was about to walk away again, when Damon suddenly saw Stefan walk by him, only a flash. Stefan's anger was too strong to contain when he heard Klaus' name, and he did the only thing he could think of: he ran to the man, and, in only a few seconds time, jumped on him, pinning him to the ground.

The man tried to fight back, but it was helpless. Stefan could notice he was a new vampire, probably only months old. Stefan punched the guy's jaw and a grunt of pain left his mouth. He positioned both his hands on the guy's head and snapped his neck, getting off of his seemingly lifeless body.

"Are you gonna help me out or not?" He said, almost out of breath. The guy was not as strong as him, but still, he was strong.

Damon nodded, and yelled for Caroline to invite the new vampire in.

* * *

"What the hell happened in here?" Elena asked, eyes almost popping out of their sockets. There was blood everywhere, a trail that lead her to the basement, where she found Damon and Stefan looking at their little homemade cage, watching as someone came back to life.

Stefan noticed Elena and sighed. "Klaus sent him."

Her breath caught in her throat. "So he knows we're here?"

"I wouldn't say that. Stefan knocked the guy to the ground before he could tell him anything." Damon said. "But if we keep him here for too long, Klaus is definitely going to suspect something."

"I have an idea." Caroline's voice suddenly ringed through the corridor, and the three vampires looked at her intently.

"What kind of idea?" Stefan asked, concern dripping out of his voice.

"Call Rebekah." She demanded, her voice confident.

 


	15. Chapter 15

"Let me get this straight," Rebekah said, crossing her legs. "You want me to compel my brother's spy into calling him and saying he didn't find Stefan nor Caroline in Mystic Falls?"

Caroline smiled. "Exactly."

"Whose idea was that?" She asked.

"Mine." Caroline replied, now a bit unsure if her idea was as brilliant as she thought it was.

"Hm," Rebekah nodded slightly. "Not bad. It can work, I guess. Good job."

Caroline grinned proudly. "Thanks, Rebekah."

Caroline looked over at Stefan briefly. His arms were folded, he was smiling, and Caroline could swear he was proud of her. It made those stupid butterflies show up again.

* * *

It really did work. The man called Klaus and said exactly what they wanted him to. He said he asked around and no one had seen neither Stefan or Caroline. He said he even stopped by the Salvatore's house and talked to Damon and again, nothing.

Klaus told him to go back to New York, then. And that was it.

Rebekah compelled him to forget about all the compelling and the beating - because Damon had punched the guy one, two or a thousand times, Caroline lost count - and he went his own way back to Klaus' apartment. Or wherever he was at.

"This was too easy," Stefan murmured some time later, after Rebekah left. "It shouldn't be this easy."

"You're right, it shouldn't. But Caroline here had a great idea and it worked. Don't be so negative." Damon snickered. "Oh, wait. You're Stefan! Your middle name is negativity. What a waste of time."

Caroline (and Stefan, too) dismissed Damon's comment. "Don't worry, Stefan. Things are looking up for us. We have more time."

"Time to do what, exactly?" Stefan asked, his voice low and unsure.

"To prepare. We have a weapon. We have a plan, kind of. Sooner or later Klaus will find us, that's for sure, but I'd rather it be later, don't you?"

Stefan nodded.

Caroline smiled.

Caroline lied.

She didn't want it to be later. She wanted it to be as soon as possible. She was good at hiding things, she was great at it, but she was so anxious she was sure someone would notice. Soon. It made her crazy to have to wait for things. Wait for Klaus, wait to see if she's going to survive this, wait to have a confirmation that the weapon they found could actually work. Wait.

Caroline was always waiting for something. When that thing finally arrived, she didn't even pay enough attention to it, because she was already waiting for something else.

She hated waiting. But the sudden realization that once Klaus arrived she would probably have nothing to wait for anymore didn't bring her any comfort or joy or anything good whatsoever, because the reason why she would have nothing to wait for anymore is that she would be dead.

So maybe waiting at those circumstances, as much as it made her angry, wasn't exactly the worst thing in the world.

* * *

It had been a week since the little vampire spy incident happened. Things were back to normal already. Caroline and Elena went out at least once every two days to get some fresh air, Stefan was against it and tried protesting but it never worked and Damon continued to use his sarcasm as a way to make fun of Caroline and Stefan's friendship.

Caroline had sincerely lost track of how long it had been since she began hiding in Mystic Falls. It struck her at one point that it didn't even feel like hiding anymore.

It felt like home.

And it shouldn't, she knew that. It shouldn't feel like home because the only reason she was living in that house with Stefan, Damon and Elena was because someone - a  _very_  powerful someone - wanted her dead. It shouldn't feel like home because she was running. Hiding. Holding on to the last string of hope that somehow she could escape Klaus.

Except when she went to a shopping trip with Elena or when Damon called her blondie when she sleepily walked down the stairs in the morning or when she laughed with Stefan over the stupidest little things, it didn't feel like running and hiding at all. It just felt like being home, surrounded by people that she loved, people that loved her back.

When she was younger and her dad decided to move out and leave her, he said that home is wherever you have love. If you love someone, then it doesn't matter where you are, as long as you are in their company. That's your home.

She loved them. All of them. Even Damon. He was a jerk eighty percent of the time, but she had been living with him for far too long to know there was more to Damon than his witty comebacks. Damon made fun of everyone, Damon was rude and uncalled for on a daily basis, but deep down she knew he cared for her, she knew he loved his brother and Elena and she knew who he really was. So how could she hate him? Damon was like a big brother to her at that point. She had always wanted a brother, and she figured having one was just like having Damon around.

Elena had pretty much become her best friend. Sometimes, she caught herself wondering what April was doing. Was she worried? Or did she find a new best friend to care about? Or, worse, was she angry at Caroline for disappearing and not saying anything? She felt guilty for caring so much about Elena and completely forgetting a friend that had been there for her for 4 years, but she couldn't do anything about it, it was out of her reach. Besides, she wouldn't put April in danger, no matter how guilty or nostalgic she felt. Elena was there for her, at least, and she cherished every moment with the brunette. At first, when Stefan told her about how she broke his heart, she thought Elena was probably the epitome of a bitch.

It didn't take too long to realize she was wrong.

When it came to Stefan, though, it was taking her way too long to figure out how she felt.

She had butterflies every time he smiled at her. Her heart rate would go crazy whenever he came too close, and she prayed to God he couldn't listen. She knew what was happening, but still, she tried to ignore it and pretend it wasn't there.

She failed every time, though. The more she ignored it, the stronger it got. She didn't want it to happen, she knew it couldn't, but somehow, it did.

Somehow, Caroline Forbes found herself falling in love with Stefan Salvatore. The one who left everything behind to keep her safe, the one who made her laugh, the one who cared for her, the one who put the people he loved the most in danger for her.

She had no idea if he felt the same way, but she didn't care. Deep down she knew nothing could ever happen. Not in their situation, it couldn't. It didn't change the way she felt, though, not even a little bit.

She loved him. Being with him made her feel safe, it made that house full of vampires feel like home, it made her feel things she shouldn't be feeling when her life was in danger.

She hated him for that.

She sighed, defeated. She was in love with Stefan. It was past the point of pretending she didn't feel it now, it was out in the open, at least for her. Now she only had to learn how to hide it.

* * *

"I think I like him." Caroline admitted, throwing herself on Elena's bed.

"Oh, really? I'm surprised." Elena spoke ironically.

Caroline knew it was coming. "That's nice Elena, thank you for the support."

Elena sat on her bed, next to Caroline. "Okay, sorry. But come on! It was so obvious."

"It shouldn't be obvious." Caroline said, exhaling loudly. "I mean, for a while I didn't feel anything romantic for him and then suddenly I get these really weird feelings in the pit of my stomach whenever I'm around him and I realize that, hey, I really like him!"

"That's exactly what love feels like, Caroline. It creeps up on you and you don't have a say on it." Elena told Caroline, a sympathetic smile on her lips.

She knew what love felt like. She also knew how it ended. "It can't happen, though. Look at what's happening right now. We're practically sitting ducks waiting for Klaus to show up and kill us all."

Caroline swore she saw a flash of fear shining in Elena's big brown eyes. "He won't kill us all."

"Maybe not. Or maybe he will. That's exactly why nothing can happen. Not to mention the fact he doesn't see me that way."

Elena threw her head back and laughed so loud Caroline jumped a little. "You're joking, right?" She said, breathlessly. Caroline didn't respond, so Elena shook her head and laughed again, this time not as loud. "He's crazy about you, Caroline."

"I very much doubt that." Caroline said.

"You shouldn't. He loves you. Everybody knows that."

"Everybody but me. And himself too, by the way."

Elena sighed and rose from her bed. "By the way," Elena imitated the blonde ironically. "Stefan knows it too. I know him. He's just as afraid as you are."

"I'm not  _afraid_." Caroline protested. She knew she was afraid, but it didn't mean that she wanted other people to know it too. "I just know it's not gonna work out. Things don't work out for me, ever."

"Stop being such a drama queen! If you two love each other, why wouldn't it work out?"

"Oh, I don't know." Caroline began. "Maybe it wouldn't work out because I've been in love before and it didn't matter how much I was loved back, in the end it just didn't work out anyway. Or, maybe, it's the fact there's an original vampire looking for us out there right now who wants both our heads on a silver platter. Really, it could be anything."

"Caroline, I love you. I do. You're usually very optimistic and happy and bubbly, but right now, you sound so much like Stefan that the only thing missing is the hair." Elena said, and Caroline couldn't help but giggle. "You're positive about so many things. Why can't you be positive about yourself, too?"

Caroline wanted to answer, but she really had no idea why. She was extremely positive when it came to other people's situations and problems, she knew that. When it came to her, though, she usually always expected the worst. She was positive about Klaus not killing everyone, but she was nowhere as optimistic about Klaus not killing  _her_.

Because in the end, Caroline was just a human. A weak, meaningless human, and Klaus definitely would not spare her life. He could, however, spare the life of all these vampires, vampires he knew for a long time and could potentially care about, somewhere (way) deep down.

After a moment of silence, Caroline got up from Elena's bed and headed for the door. "Are you gonna tell him?" Elena asked.

Caroline turned to Elena. "I can't." She sucked in a deep breath. "It wouldn't be fair to him. I've caused so much trouble already and ruined so many lives. I can't act on stupid, childish feelings when there's a much bigger and dangerous thing coming our ways."

"Have you considered the possibility that acting on those feelings could actually do more good than damage?"

Caroline didn't answer. She shot one last look at Elena, who stood smiling at her, and left the room.

Her head hurt. So did her heart.

How could falling in love make anything other than damage in the situation they were in? How could she let Stefan know she loved him when she would most likely be killed in a few months, weeks even? She couldn't. She wouldn't.

Stupid feelings, she thought to herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. That was the only word for it. Stupid feelings, stupid heart, stupid Caroline. And stupid Stefan too.

It was really all his fault. Everything he did for her, how could she not fall for him?

Stupid.

She didn't care how early it was. She went straight to her room and headed to bed. She was fast asleep.

She dreamed of Stefan. His face, his eyes, his touch. And then Klaus showed up, his fangs digging into her neck, and Stefan's screams and a voice muttering "more damage than good" over and over again. Her eyes shot open, and she watched as the sun rose.


	16. Chapter 16

Stefan was feeling uneasy, to say the least.

It was early in the morning, and the sun was shining bright, right through the closed curtains on his bedroom window. His bedside clock marked 7:32am exactly, and he had both his hands under his head, while he stared insistently at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep.

Being a vampire had its perks, of course, but it also had its downfalls, and not being able to sleep anytime he wanted to was one of them. Humans sleep because they're tired. They get tired because they're weak. Vampires aren't weak.

Sometimes, when he tried really hard, he could do something he called "disconnecting himself from the outside world". It was almost like sleeping, really. Except he didn't dream. He rests his mind and his spirit, but his body needs no rest. It makes everything harder.

He remembered that back when he was still a human, sleeping had always been something Stefan loved to do. Not because he was lazy, not at all. He had always been far away from being lazy. He loved sleeping because it was just darkness and once in a while his dreams. Being a Salvatore was hard, and sometimes it took its toll and the only thing Stefan could do to escape was sleep.

He couldn't sleep at that very moment, though. He wanted to. He would give anything to slip into unconsciousness as fast as he could, because Stefan thought too much and thinking too much made him feel uneasy and he hated feeling like that. Powerless, like the world was crumbling around him and the only thing he could do was watch.

His mind felt weary. All the tension from the events of the last week still pricked at his whole being. Everyone had seemed to forget about it, but not Stefan. Never Stefan. He worried too much, people would say. He knew they were right. But if he didn't worry, who would? Certainly not Elena, nor Caroline, much less Damon.

Stefan often thought about what would happen when Klaus finally found them and decided to make a visit in person. He did his best to hide his worries, though. He thought of Caroline and how hard it must be for her to be going through all of that. One day, she's a normal young adult, going through a break-up and trying to work things out in the big city. The next day, she's hiding from a vampire in a house full of other vampires who sometimes call in a friendly witch to help. She didn't need the constant reminder of how dangerous everything really was.

Footsteps on the hall got Stefan's attention. They were heading for his bedroom, and he contemplated pretending he was asleep, but he didn't have enough time to do so before the door got opened.

"Stefan?" It was a girl's voice. Elena.

He looked up from his bed, giving her a small smile. "Hi."

"Damon's asleep." She said, closing the door as quietly as she could. She made her way to his bed and sat on the edge, while Stefan himself switched to a comfortable sitting position. Stefan wished he could sleep as easily as his brother. "Where were you two last night? Damon and I barely talked when he came home." She smiled playfully.

"I don't need to know that." He said, but he smiled back, not wanting to sound rude. "We were at Bonnie's, checking on her, seeing if she needed anything. And then we stopped at the Grill to get some quality brotherly time."

"Really?" Elena's voice was surprised but joyful.

Stefan scrunched his nose. "Not really. We just had a few drinks while I listened to him talk about how I need to get laid."

"Oh," Elena exclaimed. "Now  _that_  makes sense."

Stefan nodded. "What about you and Caroline?" He questioned. He hadn't talked to Caroline since before he left for Bonnie's.

"We talked." Elena spoke mysteriously.

"About what?" He couldn't help but ask.

"I can't tell you, can I? That would be breaking the girl's code." She teased.

Stefan shrugged. "Whatever, I don't really want to know."

"Yeah, alright." Elena giggled.

Stefan suddenly looked at Elena seriously. "Is she okay?"

Elena seemed to ponder on that for a second. "She is. I mean, in this situation, she's as okay as she can be. But she's strong. If she's afraid or worried, she's not showing it. Are  _you_  okay?"

Stefan paused for a moment. Was he okay? "I guess so." He answered truthfully. He thought he was okay, considering.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"I'm worried." He confessed, a sad smile appearing on his lips.

"You always are." She said.

"I know."

"Then stop."

Stefan took a deep breath. "I wish it were that easy."

Elena gave him an understanding look. "Things happen. People change. I changed, Damon changed. You can change too."

"I know I can. I don't know if I want to, though." He admitted. "It's like no one cares. You and Caroline keep going out, by yourselves, no one to protect you if anything happens. Damon makes jokes and drinks himself into close stupors and walks around on his underwear like everything's alright. I have to worry about Klaus, about the possibility that we may all get killed because if I don't, no one else will."

"Of course we are worried, Stefan. I'm worried for you, for Damon, for Caroline, for Jer, for everyone. Even for me. But I'm not going to let fear and worry and doubt consume me. You do that. You think you're hiding it from everyone, but you're not. It's written all over your face. We all worry, too, but we know how to control it. You  _need_  to learn how to control that too, because all it ever does is destroy you." She said, a serious look on her face.

Stefan sighed. "Why are you always so right about everything?" Elena giggled. "It's annoying." He said, smiling.

"I'm just really,  _really_  smart!" She exclaimed. "And I know you. More than you think I do."

"Despite the circumstances, I'm glad I'm here. I'm glad we're friends." Stefan said, somewhat shyly.

"Me too." Elena smiled.

* * *

"I don't think you should have a say on what we're having for lunch. You don't even need real food." Caroline said, her eyebrows raised.

Damon's eyes widened. "You are getting way to smart for my taste. I do enjoy real food too, you know? And I say we should have burgers."

"I say pizza." Caroline insisted.

"Pizza for lunch? That's weird." Damon said. "You are weird, though, so I guess it's a good fit."

"Oh, yeah, you're one to tell. You drink blood, for God's sake." She teased him.

"Hey, so do I!" Elena exclaimed.

"Me too, Caroline." Stefan said.

"Well, you are all weird, then. And since I'm the only human being in this residence, I'm saying we're going to order pizza.

"Fine!" Damon gave up. "Order your damn pizza, woman."

Elena started giggling and Caroline got up from the couch, a proud smile on her face. "Told you I would convince him." She said to Stefan excitedly, and he swore his heart swelled.

Thirty minutes later, Elena, Damon, Stefan and Caroline sat the their couch, slices of pizza on their hands, while they talked and laughed and ate. Those were the moments Stefan treasured the most. Even though all those worries never left his mind, he managed to push at least a half of them aside, and enjoy the moment. Caroline's laugh was his favorite thing out of everything.

Seeing her laugh almost made up for all the times he saw her cry or feel scared and helpless.

Almost.

* * *

Stefan had forgotten how insolent Kol could be.

He hadn't spared a single thought for the younger original brother in years. Klaus never mentioned him, not even once. He mentioned Elijah now and then, he talked about how sometimes he missed his older brother, who was somewhere out there in the world with Katherine, but he never spoke about Kol. He didn't mention Rebekah either, except for the one time Stefan let himself ask out loud if he had talked to her recently, and all he said was "No. And I probably never will again."

That's why it took him by surprise when Kol was standing on his doorstep, his trademark smirk splattered on his face. "Hello, Stefan." He said, his thick accent even thicker now, Stefan had no idea how.

His first instinct was to attack the vampire. They didn't exactly part in good terms, and he feared he was there at Klaus' commands. As if Kol could read his thoughts, he smiled. "I'm not here because of Klaus."

Stefan didn't dare move an inch. Kol's head tilted to the left and his eyebrows knitted together. "Well, I am here  _because_  of Klaus, but not  _for_ him." Kol shrugged. "Whatever. You're smart enough, you know what I mean."

He did. Kind of. He wouldn't risk it, though. "I think you should leave. There's nothing here for you." Stefan said bitterly.

Kol brought his hand to his heart. "Ouch. You're hurting my feelings. Of course there's something in here that peaks at my interest. If there weren't, I sure as _hell_  wouldn't be here."

"Then what is it that interests you?" Stefan asked, dreading the answer.

"Caroline."

Stefan fists clenched. "She's not here."

Kol scoffed. "I can smell her from down here, Stefan. I'm not stupid."

"That's debatable." Stefan spat out.

Kol smiled sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and tried walking through the door, but he found himself unable to enter the house. "Seriously?" Kol asked, almost amused. "You really think this is going to keep Klaus out?"

"It's keeping  _you_  out."

"Not for long." Kol winked.

"Why would you think that? We're not letting you in."

Kol took a deep breath in annoyance. "There are more important questions to be answered, Stefan. Like, how do I know about Caroline? I'll tell you why. Everyone does. Every vampire who knows Klaus knows Caroline now. He's making it his life mission to find this girl and whoever knows him is going to help. Some of them are going to help Klaus, whether it's because they fear him or genuinely want to help, which I doubt ever happens, or because they have nothing better to do."

"Some of them?" Stefan asked, curious as to why anyone, apart from his insane self, would want to help Caroline.

"Yes, Stefan. Some of them. There are still some decent vampires out there who own absolutely nothing to Klaus. Vampires that do in fact care for human life, vampires that know you're involved with her and would rather stay by  _your_  side than help Klaus kill an innocent girl and the Salvatore clan."

"Whose side are you on?"

Kol smiled. "Me? Oh, that's  _debatable_."

Stefan rolled his eyes. Kol had an habit of pissing the hell out of him. "Can you just answer the question already?"

"I don't like you, Stefan, but I hate my brother. I'd take someone I dislike over someone I hate any day."

* * *

Stefan knew Kol too well to actually believe he was a hundred percent on his side, but he was in no position to deny extra help.

He did the only thing he could think of to fix his dilemma. "Meet us at the Grill in thirty minutes.", he told Kol, and even though he tried protesting and laughing at Stefan's insecurity, he ended up agreeing and leaving the Salvatore's house doorstep at last.

Stefan closed the door, somewhat relieved, and made for Caroline's room. He found her on her bed with a laptop on her lap, reading something with so much focus she didn't even realize the faces she was making.

He knocked lightly on her door and she jumped. "Stefan, hi. You scared me."

Stefan smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. What are you reading?"

Caroline closed the laptop and put it aside. "A Sherlock Holmes story."

Stefan couldn't help the surprised look that crept up his face. "Sherlock Holmes? I never took you for that kind of girl."

"There's a lot you still don't know about me." She said. "It's good, though, I really enjoyed seeing your surprised face. I gotta do this more often."

Stefan laughed. "Yeah, okay." He sat on her bed and she adjusted herself so she was sitting right next to him, their shoulders nearly touching. "I have to talk to you about something."

Caroline's smile faded. "What is it?" Stefan could hear her heartbeat racing.

"It's nothing to worry about, relax." He touched her arm and she nodded, taking a deep breath. "It's just... Kol's in town. He's Klaus' younger brother."

"Another original?" She asked.

"Yes. He's not very fond of Klaus. I think their relationship is actually even worse than Klaus and Rebekah's relationship. Klaus was all Rebekah had for a long while. Kol spent more than enough time lying half-dead in a coffin to have any love for Klaus. He says he wants to help."

"Well, did you know him? Before today?"

"I did, yeah. Kol was very selfish. He never cared about anyone else as long as he had what he wanted."

"And now?"

"Now he says every vampire who knows Klaus is after you. Some want to help you, some want to help Klaus. He wants to help you because he hates Klaus. In a way, this is typical Kol. He just wants to get back at his brother, and helping you is the way to do it."

"Helping us." Caroline corrected him.

"Yeah, us."

"So what are we going to do?"

Stefan shrugged and sighed deeply. "Honestly? I have no idea."

"Well," Caroline started. "It's been a while. Maybe he's really changed. Plus, we're in no position to turn down help. I think we should trust him. Not completely though. Let's watch him, let's see if he's really changed. And if he's not... Well, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?"

* * *

Stefan was too reluctant to bring Caroline along with him to the Grill. He tried protesting, but it didn't get him anywhere. He should have known that; Caroline had become an expert in manipulating him into letting her do whatever she wanted to. For better or for worse.

He wasn't stupid, though. He made sure to bring Damon and Elena with him, while Jeremy and Bonnie were aware of their whereabouts all the time. He wanted to tell Rebekah too, but he figured it'd be best to let Kol deal with her afterwards.

"I see you brought the whole pack." Kol teased. He was standing in the door, with a smirk on his face and his hands on his pocket. Stefan rolled his eyes. "Just get in." He said, his patience barely present.

Kol walked in first, but not before staring at Caroline for what felt like an eternity. It made him uncomfortable. He thought it would do the same to her, but his thoughts were shattered away when the words "He's cute" came out from her mouth, directed to a giggling Elena.

Great, he thought. Now there's no getting worse.

They all sat at a center table, Stefan putting as much distance between Kol and Caroline as he could. Damon eyed his brother suspiciously. Stefan ignored him; that was no time for brotherly teasing. That was not jealousy. That was a precaution. Stefan didn't know how much he could really trust Kol.

"I don't think we've met. My name is Kol." Kol said to Caroline, showing out his hand, asking for hers. "You must be Caroline." She gave him her hand and he kissed it lightly. "It's a pleasure."

Caroline smiled. "The pleasure is all mine." Her smile didn't disappear until she was sitting safely in her chair, facing Damon, who was sitting to Kol's right.

Damon raised his eyebrows. "Ew. Okay."

Kol rolled his eyes. "I still have my manners, Damon, which is more than I can say for you."

"Oh, really? I don't think being a crazy blood-sucking psychopath classifies as mannerism." He said, his tone as sarcastic as ever.

"I am indeed crazy and I do suck blood, just as you do. The psychopath part though, I beg to differ. You're confusing me with the other Original, you know, the one who wants to kill you all."

"Oh, come on, now. You got the psycho gene too, and we all know it."

Elena cleared her throat. "Are the kids done with their bantering? The adults wish to speak now."

Kol raised his eyebrows at Elena. "I see you've been getting a few lessons from this one." He pointed at Damon.

"Whatever," Damon said. "You said you wanted to help us, so help us."

"Ah!" Kol's trademark smirk was once again back on his lips. "I said I intended to help Miss Caroline, not you lot."

"That's funny, since you said you were on  _my_  side." Stefan spoke up, recalling their conversation at his doorstep.

"If I want to help Caroline, then I'm obviously on your side. It doesn't mean I'm going to care about your life and help you directly." Kol said, somewhat bored.

"You see, here's the thing," Caroline crossed her arms on the table. "You help me, you help them. That's the deal."

"I'm getting a deal now? That's exciting."

Caroline smiled. "Exciting indeed."

Damon eyed the pair curiously. "I'm gonna vomit." Stefan was close to that, too.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Fine. What do you think you can help us with, Kol?"

Kol smiled widely. "With just about everything."


	17. Chapter 17

Caroline might be considered a lot of different things, but stupid wasn't one of them.

Stefan apparently didn't get the memo, though.

"You were flirting with him," He stated, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed. "We can't trust him, you know that."

Caroline couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I know we haven't been friends for that long, but I'm sure you've realized by know that I'm not naive."

"Depends on where you're standing."

"Excuse me?" Caroline blurted out.

"You were pretty naive back when Klaus started hitting on you at that bar."

"First of all, it was a club," Caroline found her anger getting hard to control. Who did he think he was to talk to her like that? "And second, how was I supposed to know a vampire wanted to kidnap me? How I was supposed to know vampires even existed?

Stefan seemed to realize how unfair he was being. "I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault, I know that. I just-" His voice was softer now, but Caroline was still angry.

"You just what? You think I'm gonna end up making out with Kol in his car and you'll have to keep him from sucking all the blood from by body?

"Whoa, okay, chill out!"

"Chill out? You're the one who started this!" Caroline shouted, but somehow she didn't sound as angry as she wanted to.

"I'm sorry, Caroline. Okay? I'm sorry, I'm just worried about you, that's all." Stefan sighed.

"You have a weird way of showing that." Stefan made a face. "Okay, fine. You don't have to be. I can take care of myself." She spoke softer now. "Besides, I'm not about to make the same mistake twice. I was just fooling around, trying to get his trust. Girls have special powers, you know that, right? It's the flirting."

Stefan laughed. "God, I forget how smart you are sometimes."

"Well, you shouldn't." Caroline smiled. "Seriously, Stefan, you underestimate me."

"I really do." He said, defeated.

Something clicked inside Caroline's mind and before she could stop the words from coming she was already speaking. "Why did you get so angry at the idea of me and Kol flirting?"

The question caught Stefan off-guard and he opened his mouth and stared at her for a few seconds before he found his words. "I told you already. I was just worried."

"You were angry." Caroline insisted.

Stefan adverted his eyes from hers. "Kol makes me angry. Flirting, talking, walking, breathing. It's all the same."

"Alright." She mumbled, not yet entirely convinced.

It struck her that maybe he wasn't really angry. Maybe he was just jealous. Jealous of what?, a voice inside her head asked her, mocked her.

"I'm heading off to Bonnie's now. I gotta get her into our new plans and let her know Kol wants in with us. Don't know how she's gonna react to that. I hope she keeps it civilized." He walked over to her. "I'll see you later." He dropped a kiss on her forehead and smiled.

Caroline could only nod and watch him walk away.

* * *

Caroline watched as Damon and Elena discussed whether they should trust Kol or not. She was so tired. She knew it was a bad thing to wish Klaus would come, but the waiting was too much for her to handle.

It was getting harder and harder to live like that. Not knowing when or if or how Klaus would finally appear was eating at her every day. They have a weapon. They have help. Why can't Klaus just show up already?

She hated waking up every day and staring at the ceiling not knowing if that would be her last day on Earth or if she was going to watch all her friends stress over her safety for another day. Either way, she couldn't win. It was so confusing it made her head hurt sometimes.  _If he comes, he may well kill all of us. But if he doesn't, how long will we live like this?_

"He's Klaus' brother. We can't trust him." Damon looked at Elena intensely.

"Rebekah is Klaus' sister and we trust her. We trusted Elijah, too. We are in no place to deny help, Damon."

"What if this is all a plan? What if Klaus sent Kol so that he could learn of our strategies and spill his guts to his beloved brother while we're not looking?" Damon threw his arms in the air in exasperation.

"Stefan already said he knows for a fact they're not talking."

"Stefan is not Klaus' BFF! He doesn't know anything!" Damon's voice cracked a bit when he yelled. Then he took a deep breath to calm himself down, touched Elena's arm and said, in a much calmer voice. "We've overcome a lot together, Elena. Without Kol. We can do this, too."

Elena touched his face gently. "Give him a chance, Damon. This situation, it's... complicated. We know what Klaus can do, we've seen it. We don't have to like him, we don't even have to trust him a hundred percent. Just give him a little bit of trust and see what he does with it."

"I don't wanna put you in danger."

"We're all in danger. When are we not?" She kissed him. "We're gonna be fine. We're together."

Caroline left the room, then. She had no idea if they still remembered she was there in the first place. They loved each other so much, she could see it. And she had brought nothing but danger to the both of them.

Their house was so big sometimes she still got confused while walking around, but she could always find that one room she loved hiding whenever she felt like she was about to break down in tears from all the stress. It was a little abandoned bedroom, much smaller than her room and every other room in the house. She had no idea who it belonged to once, but it was always so silent. She needed silence more than she realized.

She sat on the floor, her eyes looking at the ivory colored wall where two paintings hanged side by side, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. The paintings were so different. In the left painting, a young girl stood looking down at her hands in the middle of a crowded room, her soft curls falling nearly to her waist. They all wore typical 1800s clothes, and she was in a wedding dress. She looked sad. That must have been her wedding, Caroline though. The people around her drank and ate and smiled and talked, but she was miserable.

In the painting to the right, she could see the woods. Tall trees stood one next to another, green leaves and stones covered the floor, the sun was shining in the horizon and there were birds flying in the sky. It was beautiful. And not at all sad, like the girl in her wedding dress. Two paintings. One miserable, the other full of joy. Almost like Caroline. Two sides.

She loved being surrounded by these people. Stefan, Elena, Bonnie, Damon, even Rebekah... they had become so special to her. They made her happy. But then she remembered they could die because of her, and that made her want to try and run away and keep them safe. They were supposed to protect her, but she couldn't shake the feeling they might not even be able to protect themselves.

She heard footsteps.

"Caroline?" Elena called softly.

She wanted to be alone, but she knew well enough there was no hiding from a vampire. "I'm here."

"Hi." Elena smiled and sat down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied. "I was just tired of being the third wheel."

"Well," Elena nudged her. "Where's Stefan?"

Caroline rolled her eyes, but answered her all the same. "He went to Bonnie's to update her on everything that happened."

"Good." Elena said. "So... what's wrong?"

"I told you, I'm fine."

"But I know you're not."

Elena really did know her very well. "I'm being stupid, that's all."

"Caroline," Elena touched her hand. "Having doubts and feelings is not stupid. Come on, talk to me."

Caroline took a deep breath. She really did need someone to talk to. "The waiting is killing me. I was watching you and Damon and I thought, Klaus could kick down the door at any minute and kill us all. Sometimes when we're all having dinner and laughing I suddenly think, hey, Klaus could show up right now. I hate this."

"I understand. Trust me, I do. It sucks when you're in a dangerous situation and you have no control over it."

"That's it. Control. That's the word I was looking for. I used to be such a control freak back in high school and I thought I had learned to let things go in their own natural course, but right now I have no control over this whole thing and I'm going crazy."

"Well, it's only natural. You're not a control freak anymore. This is not a high school dance, Care. This is life and death. Don't beat yourself up over wanting control of your own life."

"But I do. Because you and Damon, you love each other. Stefan loves you two, too, and he loves Bonnie, and you're all his family and I'm putting you guys in danger. This is all my fault. One day you're all happy and safe and the other you have to look out for me, a stupid weak human being who can't defend herself even if she wanted to."

Elena laughed. "You're silly. We don't have to look out for you, we want to. You have become a part of our family now, Caroline. We love you. Don't ever think for a second we're doing this out of pity, or out of love for Stefan. We want to protect you. And you're not stupid."

Caroline felt warm tears on her cheek before she could even try to hold them back. Elena's arm went over Caroline's shoulders. "I love you guys too. All of you. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

"We won't. We'll all stick together and stop Klaus. Our plan is gonna work, Care, trust me."

And she did.

* * *

Later, when Stefan came home, they all got together one last time before deciding if they would in fact accept Kol's help.

"Well, he's my brother. Of course I say yes." Rebekah said first.

"I vote no." Bonnie said, her voice firm. "I don't know if I can trust him. I can barely trust Rebekah, to be honest." Rebekah gave her a glare that should make her shut up, but she only shrugged and told her to deal with it.

"Yes." Elena said, ignoring Damon's sigh. "We need help. He wants to give it to us. Let's trust him.

"Absolutely not", said Damon. "I'm not stupid."

Caroline looked at Stefan. "No. I don't trust him." She sighed.

If Caroline voted no, it would be four against two and there would be no discussing it. If she voted yes, they would go through with it, she knew that. It was all about her in the end. Stefan and Damon would probably keep to their initial votes but Bonnie would give it a second thought and eventually she would say yes, and they would call Kol and he would start working with them.

What if Kol betrayed them? What if he were simply a spy for Klaus and he told him about all of their plans, about the weapon they found and about Rebekah's involvement? They would have no chance, then. At all. They would all die and there would be no chance to fight.

But what if Kol really did want to help? His help could change everything. He's an original, too, and with Rebekah they were already half the Originals left. She didn't know exactly how having two of Klaus' siblings on her side would help her, but she had a few ideas. Maybe he would back off, unable to fight against his own blood for someone as insignificant as her. Maybe they would talk him down, change his mind, convince him to stop trying to kill them all just because she didn't want to be Klaus' own personal all-you-can-eat buffet. Or, maybe, if it all went down to fighting, Rebekah and Kol would make them stronger.

She could win both ways, but she could also lose.

They were all looking at her, waiting for an answer, each of them pressuring her their own way. Stefan's eyes were the worst. He looked right into her eyes, he made her feel guilty and he made her fear she would choose it wrong and fail him.

She closed her eyes. Listen to yourself, Caroline. This is your family now. Help them.

"Yes." She said. "Kol can be trusted."

And so it began.


	18. Chapter 18

Kol paced around the house. Stefan's house. Caroline's vote counted for two, as he already knew it would, and they called Kol and gave him the happiest of news: his help would be accepted. Happy for him, at least. Stefan hated it.

He couldn't bring himself to like the fact the same Kol who only years ago tried to kill them all so many times was now roaming freely around his house and knew all of his plans.

He liked it even less when he spoke to Caroline, or smiled at her, or looked at her. Sometimes he felt like ripping Kol's head out when he was in the same room as her.

He told himself a million times that it wasn't jealousy. He just wanted to look out for Caroline, protect her, and Kol had a  _not so great_  reputation and it had been confirmed to Stefan too many times already. Caroline was his best friend. It had been months since that night in the parking lot of that nightclub, months since that day he made the choice to run away from Klaus and protect her. He couldn't risk Kol ruining it all in a matter of, what, 24 hours?

"I'm going to call Klaus," Kol said, and Stefan's head snapped up. "and I-"

"Are you insane?" Stefan spoke a little too loud.

Kol looked at him mockingly. "Excuse me?"

"You can't call Klaus."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't!"

Kol laughed. "Oh, Stefan. Of course I can. You accepted my help, didn't you? Well, here I am, giving it to you."

"We need to have a plan. We need to know what we're gonna do, how we're gonna act. You can't just come in here, call Klaus and say 'oh, yes, come and get us, brother'."

Kol's eyes seemed darker. "I'm not here to play house, Stefan. If you think for a second I'm gonna sit around waiting for Klaus just as you all have been doing for the past months, you're wrong. This isn't a war, you don't need a plan of attack. This is survival. You have the means to stop him, don't you? Well then. Get on with it already."

"You're not gonna help by calling him, you're gonna make things worse." Stefan said, defiantly.

"Do you have a better idea? Besides pretending you're Caroline's big shining hero and that nothing bad will ever happen to her because you're here?"

Stefan was at his throat before he could even think twice about it. Kol punched and kicked him until finally he got an advantage. He punched Stefan in the face so hard the room started spinning and he thought he was gonna fall down, but he kept his balance and punched Kol in the stomach just as hard. He didn't seem to feel it, though, because he was smirking again.

"Is this all you've got?" Kol teased, while Stefan felt blood dripping down his nose.

He punched him again, this time as hard as he could, right in his jaw. Kol stumbled back, but he kept himself on his feet.

"Come on, Stef. Let it out. You're angry, I can see it." Kol kept smirking.

Stefan was so angry he couldn't control himself anymore. The veins under his eyes came out along with his fangs, his blood was pumping and he could listen as his heartbeat got quicker and stronger. He closed his hand into a fist one more time and aimed for Kol's jaw.

"Stop!" Caroline shouted, running as fast as her human legs could carry her. She stood right between them, then, but her back was turned to Stefan and she was pushing Kol away. "Stop this, you idiot. Why are you hitting him?"

"He was the one hitting me!" Kol argued.

"Yeah, well, there's a reason for that." Stefan wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand. Caroline saw that, and her eyes went from angry to worried

She touched his face gently with one hand, and his arm with the other. "Are you okay?"

"He's a vampire, darling. A little punch is not going to kill him." Kol said, but she payed him no mind.

Stefan nodded, as his anger melted away under her touch. "He wants to call Klaus." He said, because as much as that was  _one of_  the reasons for his anger, he didn't feel like talking about the  _main_  reason.

"This has to end!" He tried to defend himself once again. "How long have you been here? Hiding? Afraid? You say you have everything you need, but you're lacking the courage to stand up to my brother and put an end to this already."

Caroline was still holding Stefan's arm when she turned to Kol. "I know."

The pain in Stefan's nose was almost gone now, but he felt as if he had just been punched all over again. "What?"

"Stefan, I... I'm tired." She breathed out. "I don't wanna do this anymore."

"Do what?" Stefan felt dizzy. Caroline wanted to call Klaus, too, he realized.

"Hide. I want this to end." What if you get hurt? What if you die? I can't take that, Caroline. He wanted to tell her that, he wanted to rip out Kol's heart and stop this all from happening, but instead he kept his mouth shut as Caroline's grip on his arm grew tighter. "Please. Hear him out. Let him help."

"You have a weapon." Kol said. "You have a way to defeat him. He can't be killed, we're all very aware of that, but you can  _stop_  him. There are eight of us now, if Rebekah's idiot boyfriend will serve us any good. Hell, there's Jeremy Gilbert, too! I know Elena wants to keep him out of this as much as she can, but he has that same hero complex you have, Stefan, so I'm sure he'll be eager to help out."

"Kol." Caroline made that sound like a warning. Kol rolled his eyes, but even though she was only human and Kol was an original vampire, he actually watched his tone. "What else are you waiting for?" He asked.

Stefan didn't have an answer for that, as much as he tried to come up with one. He didn't like the idea of being bossed around by Kol, and if he could only find  _one_  reason to stop this crazy plan, he knew it would work. But he couldn't.

Caroline let go of his arm, then. He didn't like that, either.

"Call him." Caroline said.

Kol nodded. Caroline looked at Stefan again, and gave him a sad half-smile. This better work, he thought. This better work because I can't lose her. I just can't.

"Brother." Kol said to the phone on his ear. Stefan listened intently to the conversation.

"Kol?" Klaus' voice was just as Stefan remembered it, only he was visibly taken aback by his estranged brother's call.

"Who else could it be?" Kol smiled. "I have a few exciting news for you." He glanced at Caroline and then at Stefan.

"You haven't called me in forever and now you have exciting news?"

"Oh, come on, brother. You're immortal. You shouldn't use that word to anything, ever. And yes, I have exciting news. Word travels around fast. You're looking for Stefan Salvatore."

"Indeed I am." There was a hint of mistrust in his voice, Stefan could hear it, and it worried him. "Where are you?"

"Well, where I am doesn't matter. At least not now. What matters is- why are you after Salvatore? I thought you were supposed to be roommates."

"He stole something from me. Now I want it back."

"What did he steal from you, may I ask?" Kol glanced at Caroline again, but he didn't pay Stefan a second look.

"It doesn't matter. At least not now."

"Again with the 'at least not now'? When will it matter?" Kol gave a nervous laugh. "Fine, whatever. I know where he is."

"Where?" Klaus asked eagerly.

"Mystic Falls, of course. And I hear he's got a new girlfriend now. I can never keep up with these Salvatores' love lives, it's incredible."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I know you're looking for him and one of my, well,  _friends_ , told me about this. So I thought, why not call my beloved brother up and let him deal with his little problem while I get something nice and shiny in return?"

Stefan didn't like this.

"What do you want?" Klaus asked.

"You'll know once you get here."

"Here?" Klaus asked.

"Well, of course. Stefan has a brother too. Why should he have an advantage?"

Klaus chuckled. "I'm not planning on going all alone, little brother. But very well, if you're already there, you can help too, I guess. And then we can discuss your nice and shiny something in return."

Kol smiled. "Great. Can't wait."

And just like that, they got themselves a date with Klaus.

* * *

"The weapon is ready. I made the spell. I said the words, I did everything the way I had to, but please remember there is no guarantee. This can work, yes, but it can also fail. There's no way of testing it." Bonnie warned them as they all gathered to go over the last details of their plan.

"It's going to work." Caroline said. "I know it."

Stefan didn't share her optimism, but he stayed silent.

"What exactly is the plan?" Rebekah asked.

"Kol is going to meet Klaus tomorrow at the Grill. He'll lead him and whoever is out there with him here, and we'll go out to fight him. Caroline is going to stay inside, hidden." Stefan paused, listening, waiting for Caroline to disagree and say she wished to fight along with them, but there was nothing. That worried him more than he thought it would. "I'll have the weapon. I'll bury it right into his heart the first opportunity I get."

"And that's it?" Rebekah raised her eyebrows.

"That's it." Stefan answered.

"You'd think you had, like, a freaking master plan full of strategies and hidden weapons and magic tricks after all this time hiding away. Whatever. What do we do until then?"

"Now we go to sleep!" Damon said. "We can't go crazy over this. Let's all get some nice rest and whatever happens tomorrow, happens. Nighty night." He got up, his fingers locked with Elena's, and she followed him to the room. "Good night, guys. See you tomorrow." Elena said, and they disappeared into the house.

"This was enlightening." Rebekah mocked, and Caroline rolled her eyes. "Chill out, I'm joking. I'll be here tomorrow, I promise."

Bonnie gave the weapon to Stefan, and Kol was the last one to leave after Caroline made him apologize for hitting Stefan earlier. Stefan was surprised he actually agreed to it, but that was Caroline. She made you want to impress her, and you would do anything to please her.

She lingered on, never leaving her spot on the couch. Her eyes traveled around. She never knew where to look. She must be over-thinking this, Stefan thought. He got up from his place and sat next to her.

"Hi." He said, almost a whisper.

She looked at him and smiled. "Hi, Stefan."

"What are you thinking about?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I'm really torn. I want this to be over, but I feel like there's a million things that could go wrong."

"I feel the same way." Stefan said, and it was completely true.

"Stefan, I-" She paused.

"What?"

There was another pause before she shook her head lightly and smiled. "Nothing. I'm being stupid. I just can't believe this is it. Klaus is coming and we're gonna have to fight him and not all of us might make it out alive. He's so dangerous and powerful and freaking  _immortal_. What if something happens to Elena, or Bonnie, or... you?"

He saw the fear in her eyes as clear as the sun in a cloudless sky, and it burned him just the same. "If anything happens to any of us, it's okay. We've lived long enough. You still have your entire life ahead of you. You're the priority."

"But I just met you." She said, and the vulnerability in her voice was nearly palpable. "You can't die now."

Stefan's breath was caught in his throat. "Caroline." He realized she was crying.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, I'm so sorry."

Stefan hugged Caroline as she cried on his shoulder and all the guilt he'd been feeling for these past few months came back to him at once. "It's my fault. I let him take you. That night, I should have stopped him, I should have-"

"No." She broke away the hug and wiped the tears on her face. "No, it was not your fault." Caroline turned from miserable to strong in no more than two seconds because she felt the need to comfort him and he almost smiled because that was  _so_  Caroline it hurt. "He wouldn't have listened to you and you know that. If anything, you helped me, and if I die tomorrow, I die knowing you did all you could to protect me."

 _What use will that be if you die? I want_ you _, not the notion that you think I'm your hero after you're dead and gone._  "You're not gonna die, Caroline. Stop, don't say that. We're all gonna be fine. You'll see."

He hoped Caroline believed those words because even though he was the one saying them, he had a hard time actually believing.

He slept that night, but he had nightmare after nightmare until he couldn't handle them anymore, so instead he stared at the ceiling and watched the world gain its colors back as the sun came out.


	19. Chapter 19

You have to be strong, Caroline thought. Over and over again she told herself that. Be strong. Be strong. Be strong. Be strong for Elena, for Damon, for Bonnie, for Stefan. Be strong even for Kol, be strong for everyone helping you.

She wanted to have a plan of her own. She wasn't going to just stay there hidden while her friends - her family- fought for her outside and risked their lives, no matter what she made the others believe.

But what exactly could she do? She was human. She didn't have any powers, she didn't have strength. She could die as quickly as a fly. She couldn't run, they'd catch her. She couldn't fight, they would punch her once and she would probably black out. She knew if she tried to do anything, she would end up making things worse for the people who could actually fight back and do some good.

Damn it, she thought. How can I be strong if I don't  _feel_  strong? How can I feel strong hiding away while people are risking their lives fighting for me?

The sun came up faster than she wanted it to. She got four or five hours of sleep, she didn't know, but it was enough. She wouldn't be feeling tired any time soon, and she knew that. She had her breakfast with Elena while Stefan and Damon talked upstairs. She was sure Elena could hear everything, but she knew better than to ask.

Afterwards, when Bonnie had arrived along with Jeremy and Rebekah, Stefan went over the plan about a hundred times. It wasn't a very complex plan, everyone knew that, but Stefan felt the need to repeat it over and over again every time they thought he was done talking about it. He's afraid, Caroline thought. He's afraid someone will screw up and it's not gonna work and something is gonna happen to me. Caroline shared that same fear, but not about herself.

She'd rather die than let someone else die because of her.

Maybe she should. Maybe she should stop all the fighting and give herself up to Klaus if he promised not to hurt any of her friends. She had no way of knowing he would keep his promise, though, and she knew someone like Klaus shouldn't be free to roam the Earth for all of eternity. He was evil. More and more people would get hurt as long as he still lived. And since he couldn't be killed, well, the world would be better off with him being put to sleep.

How could she do that, though? How could she help, but really, really help, and not just stand in the way, helpless and vulnerable?

No. I can't think about  _that_ , I can't consider it, she thought. Can't she? She needed to be strong, and as strong as she wanted to be, it would never be enough. Not if she stayed human. But she couldn't do  _that_ _._ What would Stefan think?

Be strong.

They were all ready for Klaus. Stefan had the weapon ready, Kol was already at the Grill two hours earlier so he wouldn't risk Klaus arriving earlier and screwing everything up, and now all they could do was wait.

Waiting made Caroline nervous. Caroline started to over-think things when she was nervous, and that was not good.

A phone rang. It was Stefan's, and he left the room to pick it up, as if she could hear anything anyway. Didn't he know she was a powerless, weak human?

He came back. "That was Caleb." They had put Caleb among the Grill's clients so he could update them without drawing too much attention. "There's no sign of Klaus yet."

Another half an hour and Caroline felt like she was about to throw up at any second.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked.

"Not really." She said. "I'm nervous."

"Don't be." Elena put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"There's something I need to talk to you about, but I can't risk anyone else listening."

"Let's go." Elena said. "Guys, Caroline is too nervous, we're gonna get some air."

"No way." Stefan intervened. "You can't leave the house, Elena."

"Fine. We'll go upstairs instead, open a window. Calm down."

He nodded, defeated. Caroline was still not confident. Am I really going to go through with this?, she thought. Yes. Yes, I am.

Caroline closed the door behind her out of habit, as if a wooden door would stop a vampire's listening skills. She took a deep breath. "I don't think I can do this. I have to help you guys." She whispered.

"They're not listening, Caroline."

"You can't be sure about that."

"Why can't they listen, anyway?" Elena asked.

Be strong.

"I have a plan. I need Bonnie's help."

* * *

Stefan got a text from Caleb that said "He's here", and suddenly everyone was off to their places, about to play their parts in the plan. Elena gave Caroline a look and a nod, and went off to the street, where they would all be waiting for Klaus and his friends. Stefan stayed behind for a second, and Caroline glanced at Bonnie.

"Stefan." Caroline called him. He looked at her and she gestured for him to come to her.

Be strong.

"I have to go, Caroline. You hide now, okay? Hide in one of the rooms, lock and barricade the door, just to be safe."

"I wanna know what's going on. I can't just stay here while you're all out there risking yourselves for me." She needed to keep him there just a little bit longer. Be strong.

"I'm sorry, it's too dangerous." Stefan said, touching her cheek. "We'll be fine."

"I know you will."

He smiled. "This will all be over soon, you'll see."

"Caroline." Bonnie called, and she closed her eyes. Be strong. "Stay here, I'm gonna see what Bonnie wants." He nodded and she walked away.

"It's done." Bonnie said.

Caroline felt like Stefan would hate her for that. He would hate her so much he wouldn't want to see her ever again, but at least he would be alive. They all would.

Bonnie left the house, too, and that left only Caroline, staring while Stefan checked his phone one more time. He caught her eyes, then, and it was like he immediately knew something was wrong. He knew her so well. Too well.

"Caroline?" He called, and his voice was already filled with worry. You have to be strong, Caroline, for him.

"I'm so sorry, Stefan."

She saw everything in his eyes all at once. Confusion, fear, pain, worry. He tried walking to her, then. He bumped into an invisible wall. He touched it one, two, three more times. He looked at Caroline and then at his hands and at Caroline again.

"I can't let you die." She said, tears clouding her vision. She blinked them away. She wanted to see him. "I'll be back soon, don't worry. We're all gonna be fine. I'm only doing this because I know you'll go after me if I let you."

"Where are you going, Caroline?" Stefan asked, more worried than angry. In fact, he wasn't angry at all. He was afraid.

"You have helped me enough."

"You're going to Klaus, aren't you?"

Caroline blinked away more tears. "Answer me!" Stefan pounded at the invisible wall.

She looked at him. "Yes."

He shook his head miserably. "You can't."

"Yes, I can." Caroline approached him, being careful not to be within his reach. The spell wouldn't let him go outside, but he could still bring things - in this case, people - inside. She knew he would try. "Stefan, I have a plan."

"It's Klaus. It's not gonna work. He's going to kill you, and I- No. You can't do this, Caroline."

She smiled sadly. "You underestimate me, Stefan. Don't."

"Don't leave." He pleaded, but she had to be strong. "We had a plan."

"I have one too. And this plan, this will work, and no one has to die." She saw a tear roll down his cheek. "Don't cry." She wanted to touch his face, so, so badly. Be strong, she had to be strong, it was going to work out. "Stay here. This wall thingy is not gonna last forever, Bonnie told me. She made it so it will only last an hour. I don't know how, I'm not good at all this witchy stuff." She smiled through her tears, doing her best to change the subject. He has no idea what I'm going to do yet, she thought.

"You're crying, too. And your heart is racing." He said, his voice cracking. "Why?"

"Because I love you, Stefan. And I don't know if you'll ever want to see me again after what I'm about to do."

He blinked at her and his mouth was parted slightly and she finally realized she had said  _it_. She didn't mean to, not like that, but it just came out and she couldn't hold it in. She loved him. She really, really did, and everything she did she did for him, for his safety. He would probably never forgive her, she also knew that, but it didn't matter as long as he was safe.

"Caroline-"

"Don't say anything. I have to go."

He called her name again, and again, but she ran out the door and ignored him as best as she could.

Be strong.

* * *

Elena had told Damon and Rebekah what Caroline intended to do. Rebekah called her stupid, but she ended up agreeing to help anyway. Caroline didn't tell her everything, though. There was no need.

Elena texted Kol and told him to bring Klaus to Rebekah's house instead of the Salvatore house. Elena then drove her there, kissed her cheek and hugged her. "Are you sure you want to do this, Caroline?"

"Yes." She said.

She didn't waste time. She got out of the car and walked up the steps to Rebekah's house. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Klaus was there, and Kol, and three more tall guys with their fangs out and very, very strong arms.

"At last, she comes." Klaus said, opening his arms. "Have you missed me, darling?"

"Not really." She smirked. Kol raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"I have to admit, when my brother told me you had agreed to meet me all by your lonesome, I had my doubts. How did you get out of Stefan's sight? Did he let you get a breath of fresh air after all these months?"

"I took care of him."

"You did? That's good. I don't want him interrupting this long-awaited reunion." He smiled that stupid, evil, disgusting smile. She wanted to punch it out of his face.

Caroline took a deep breath. "Cut the crap, Klaus. I came here to offer you a deal."

"Oh." He exclaimed. "And what deal is that?"

"Me for Stefan and everyone else's safety. That includes Elena, Damon, Rebekah, Bonnie, Caleb, Jeremy... Even Kol."

Klaus knitted his eyebrows and looked at Kol. "Kol?"

He didn't know. "Do you think Kol just happened to know where I was? I called him, I asked him for help to bring this together, so now I want him safe, too. I have a feeling you would kill every one I've ever had any contact with the first chance you got without a very detailed agreement first."

"Fair enough. Except... Why would I want you when I can have all these people? Even my sister, Rebekah. I must confess, I'm a little hurt by her betrayal, but it was expected."

Caroline was taken aback by his sudden loss of interest. "I thought you wanted me. I mean, that's why I've been hiding all this time."

Klaus chuckled. "Oh, please. I can have another blonde like you as quickly as I can snap my fingers. I want Stefan. He betrayed me and the trust I had in him. People who betray my trust have to be punished."

Caroline crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows. "Do you think you're God? Or, like, the King of Earth? People betray other people's trust all the time, that doesn't mean you have to kill them."

"I'm not just people, love. I'm an Original, a hybrid, I can't be killed."

"I know what this is. You're hurt." Caroline said.

"Excuse me?"

"You're hurt! Stefan chose  _me_  over you. No one likes you, no one tolerates you except Stefan. He was the only one, and he chose to run away with  _me_." She laughed, and tried to mask her fear.

Klaus' anger was clear now. "You're wrong."

"Oh, am I? You've been looking for him for months. I thought it was because of me, but you just said you can find another me as quick as a snap of your fingers. Well, then, this is about Stefan. You thought he was your friend. The only friend you would probably ever have. Don't you know  _people_  like you can't have friends? You think you're better than everyone, but everyone hates you, and nothing is ever gonna change that, because  _you_  are never going to change."

He had her by the neck pressed to a wall in a second. Her back ached from the strength of the push, but that pain went nearly unnoticed because of the hand that was tightening around her neck making it unable for her to breathe.

"I don't need love. That look on your eyes, right there, that's all I need.  _Fear_."

"I'm n-not afraid of y-you." She said, her nails scratching at Klaus' hands uselessly. Not like this, she thought. Please.

He let go of her neck, then. She inhaled as much air as she could at once, and she noticed Kol with worry in his eyes. She had two seconds to think about Kol's loyalty before Klaus' voice rang in her ears again.

"Well, love. Right now, I want somebody else's fear. You're disposable. Here, I'll show you."

She felt her hands on her neck again. She could hear the sound of her neck breaking before the world went dark.


	20. Chapter 20

I love you, Caroline said to Stefan. She said she loved him, and he didn't say it back. No one would tell him what she planned to do. Stefan wasn't stupid, he knew they knew, but he couldn't exactly beat it out of Bonnie, and he doubted Caroline had confided in Damon. Stefan loved her too. But he didn't say it, and now Caroline was doing God-knows-what and there was a chance she would never know how he felt. There was a chance he would never, ever see her again.

Bonnie's spell wore off after an hour, exactly like Caroline had said it would. It was dark out already. He wanted to go after her. He had no idea what was happening, and that made him go crazier and crazier by the minute. This is how she would feel like if they had gone through with his plan. But now she could be dead, and it was his fault.

If only he hadn't let her go. He should have known. He knew, deep inside, that she would do something, because that was Caroline he was talking about. She loved everyone so much she would rather die than put them in further danger, but she didn't think about what it would be like for them - for  _him_ \- if she died.

"She'll be alright, Stefan." Elena said when she saw the look on his face. "Trust me."

"I can't trust you. There's no way you could possibly know that. You shouldn't have let her go, Elena." His worry made him sound angrier than he intended to.

"I'm sorry." It was all she could say.

He shook his head and tried to fix his mistake. "No. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that, it's not your fault. I know she would have gone either way."

"You love her, don't you?" Elena asked.

"I do." He didn't see the point in denying it anymore. "More than I thought I would, more than I wanted to. I should have kept her safe, and now she's gone."

"She'll be back."

"How can you be so sure?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"She will." Elena said, smiled and walked away from him.

He went through all the possible scenarios in his head over and over again. He had no idea what was her plan, but there weren't a lot of scenarios that would end in her coming back to him alive and well.  _Caroline, what are you doing?_ , he thought.  _Come back. I need you._

Bonnie kept as much distance as she could. He couldn't blame her, though. Bonnie was his friend, but she had become Caroline's too and she wouldn't betray her. Rebekah left to go after Caleb when Stefan was freed from the spell and Elena was talking to Jeremy. Damon was drinking, as usual. They're all tense, he realized. It's not just me. They all care about Caroline.

Stupid. How could he ever think he was the only one who cared about her? He could only argue that they didn't feel half the way he felt, because he  _loved_  her. If anything happened to her they would be sad, they would be angry, but they would move on. He wouldn't. Even though they were hiding, even though they knew Klaus could show up at any given time, she made him happy. He had never been so happy in his life before. She was that happiness he wanted so bad, and if something happened to her, anything, he didn't think he could take it.

When Stefan looked again, Damon was walking towards him. He offered Stefan a glass of scotch, and Stefan accepted it gladly.

"How are you, brother?" He asked, genuinely worried.

"How do you think?"

"I think you're feeling the same way I would if it were Elena in this situation instead of Caroline."

"Bingo." Stefan said.

"I told you you were in love with her." Damon mocked him.

Stefan chuckled despite himself. "Yeah, you did."

They stayed in silence for a moment. It felt good to have his brother back. They had been fighting for so long that even when they weren't, things were still tense. It was different now. After all these years, Stefan was finally able to say he could forgive  _and_  forget everything Damon had ever done, and have a fresh start. He figured it all had something to do with Caroline.

They were still in silence, looking at nowhere and just being there for each other when the door opened.

No, it didn't open. It flew. Damon jumped next to Stefan, but Stefan didn't even flinch. Deep down, he knew it was coming.

"Stefan, I'm home!" Klaus' voice rang through the living room. He walked right into the house. It meant Caroline was dead. He thought he was going to pass out.

"Klaus." He said, trying to stay calm. "Where's Caroline?"

"Dead."

Stefan's heart skipped a beat. "I don't believe you."

"I don't care. I do apologize though. I wanted to kill her right in front of you, but I'm afraid Caroline and her loose tongue made me lose my good judgement. I broke her little neck earlier than I intended to."

On the outside, Stefan seemed calm. He blinked, he breathed slowly, he stared at Klaus with the same intensity Klaus was staring back at him. But inside, he felt as though someone was stabbing him in the chest. He was scared to lose it, he was scared to fall down or pass out or worse. He had to be strong for Caroline. He had to be strong and kill Klaus and live for her.

"Get out." Stefan managed to say. The air was thick around him. She was dead.

"Not before I get what I came here for." He smiled. Three other guys walked in the house, Kol with them. They stood face to face with Jeremy, Elena, Damon and Bonnie, who were to both Stefan's sides, Elena and Jeremy on the right, Damon and Bonnie on the left. "Look at that. We're even. I thought I was going to find my dear sister Rebekah here, but apparently she ran. Typical. Such a pity."

"What did you came here for, exactly?" Stefan closed his hands into fists.

"Why, your head, of course. I warned you. Don't betray me, Stefan. I told you what would happen. Now here we are. I promised to kill your beloved Elena but it seems she's not as beloved as she was once, am I right? I can very well fix that by killing everyone. They weren't part of the deal, but I didn't get to kill Caroline in front of you, so they will have to do."

"You can kill me. But don't hurt them, they have nothing to do with any of this."

"They hid you and your little blonde girlfriend. They have  _everything_  to do with this. You will burn, Stefan. Like I warned you you would. I can't be killed. You have no chance."

"We'll see about that."

Stefan threw himself forward, punching Klaus in the face and dropping him to the floor. He caught a glance of the other vampires attacking Elena, Damon and Jeremy, while Bonnie chanted words he couldn't understand. He looked for Kol to see where he was and what he was doing, but Klaus was already up and hitting him before Stefan could find him. He punched Klaus again, harder, punched him for Caroline and for himself, for Elena and for Damon and for everyone he ever loved. Klaus must have seen the anger in his eyes, because he started smiling through the punches.

"I can't die, you fool." He mocked, but Stefan didn't care. He kept punching him, kicking, pushing.

Klaus hit his head on the wall once, and it gave him time to see Kol ripping out the heart of one of Klaus' guys. He's on our side after all, he thought.

He punched Klaus again. He was breathless, and then he stopped. He didn't know why he stopped, and he couldn't bring himself to even try and deflect Klaus' punches.

He realized Caroline was really, really dead. Klaus walked in the house, it was in Caroline's name. He wouldn't be able to come in if she were still alive. She was gone. What else was there for him?

Damon staked another one of Klaus' guys.

He had his brother, yes. Elena, Bonnie, his friends, his family. He should fight for them. They loved him and he loved them. Klaus will kill them all, he thought. He couldn't win even if he tried to fight.

He felt Klaus' hand on his neck. Is this what he did to her? Did she suffer? He looked for the weapon he was supposed to hide on his sleeve. Where did it go? He couldn't breathe.

"I told you, Stefan. I  _warned_  you."

The last of Klaus' guys was on the floor, and Damon held Elena back. She wanted to save him, he knew. Elena would always want to save him, but she couldn't. Damon couldn't either. No one could. Klaus won, like Stefan knew he would, and this time there would be no final twist. The world started spinning. Klaus let go of him and he fell to his knees. Klaus pushed his head up by his hair so he was facing him, and he showed Stefan a random piece of wood. When did he get that? Stefan was dizzy. He could hear Bonnie trying to do a spell, but it didn't work, and Elena was crying, and he could hear Jeremy's heartbeat.

"Now I'm going to shove this into your chest. Look at me." Klaus shook his head. "You lost."

The last thing he thought of was Caroline's smile.

He waited for death, but it never came. Instead, Klaus was pinned against a wall next to Stefan while he fell to the ground weakly, and even though everything was spinning he could still see that blonde hair he loved so dearly.

"No," he heard her voice say, and for a moment he thought death had come after all and that was only an illusion, maybe the afterlife or the other side, but his strength was coming back and he knew she was really there. " _You_  lost."

He heard the sound of the weapon ripping through Klaus' flesh. She let him go and backed away from him and he just stood there, looking at that thing inside his chest. "I can't be killed, love." He managed to say before his hands started shaking. He looked at them, confused, and then back at her, and she was smiling so bright Stefan thought he was dead again.

"But you can be put to sleep. Good night,  _love._ "

And then his body was on the floor, his skin was crackled and pale, and his body seemed lifeless.

Caroline leaned down next to Stefan.

"Are you okay? Oh my God, Stefan." She touched his face, and he blinked at her, still not quite believing it.

"I thought you were dead." He said weakly. The bruises on his face were slowly healing, he could feel it.

"I was." She said, and he could sense she was afraid. He didn't understand.

"Caroline?"

"I'm sorry, Stefan. It was the only way."

And then it hit him. Klaus walked in because she died, so no living human owned it anymore. She was fast, faster than she'd ever been.

He got up, then, and she got up with him. He looked at her, and she smiled nervously.

She was a vampire.

"H-How?" He asked, still so confused he could barely speak.

"Elena gave me her blood." She replied. "I had to die, though, so I went to Klaus to distract him. I talked to him and I said all the things I knew would make him angry so he'd kill me, and I knew he would come here after, so... When I woke up, Caleb and Rebekah were there, and Caleb volunteered his, um... well, his neck. For my new fangs." She chuckled. "Crazy. And then I came here. I had to save you, Stefan. I had to save everyone, this is what I wanted and what I had to do."

Stefan shook his head. "You were supposed to stay human, Caroline. That was the whole point. You were supposed to survive this and live a happy and full live until you died of old age with grandchildren. This is not a good thing. It's a curse, it's-"

"It's what I wanted. You don't understand. I had to protect my family." She touched his face. "I'm sorry. Don't be mad, please."

How could he be mad at her? She was alive. Alive and well, alive and in front of him, alive and touching him. He held the hand she stroked his cheek with, and closed his eyes, taking in her scent. She gave up her humanity for him, for everyone. He didn't think he could love her more.

He wanted to kiss her and tell her he loved her, but she took her hand away and walked to Elena. They hugged, and Stefan, still too stunned to move, heard Caroline whisper "I'm really hungry" into Elena's ear. She laughed, and said they'd take care of it. She hugged Bonnie, Jeremy, and even Damon.

"I'm sorry about your brother." She said to Kol, and hugged him too.

"I'm sorry about your humanity."

"I didn't care that much about my humanity." Caroline shrugged.

"I didn't care that much about my brother." Kol said.

She laughed, and Stefan's heart grew bigger inside his chest.

"We won." She said, and her eyes found Stefan's once again.

"We won." He echoed.

Stefan looked at Klaus' body. They really did win, and nothing could ever be sweeter.


	21. Chapter 21

Being a vampire was a lot harder than Caroline thought it would be. Bonnie made her a daylight ring while Damon, Elena and Kol left to bury Klaus' sleeping body somewhere safe. Under concrete, at the bottom of the ocean... She didn't even want to know. All she cared about was the fact it was done.

She cared about blood, too, but that she had no control over that. Jeremy brought her two blood bags they kept in a freezer in the basement, and for a while it was enough, but it had been two hours and she wanted more already.

"It's harder at first," Stefan told her. "You'll get used to it later, though. Alcohol helps."

Stefan told her she would be experiencing a lot of mood swings, too. She even joked about it not being so different from PMS, but he didn't laugh at that. It wasn't that funny, she wanted to tell herself, but she couldn't help but feel like he was angry at her. She said she loved him, and he didn't say anything back, so she should be the angry one. But she also locked him in his own living room while she gave away something he would kill to get back- her humanity.

He had told her before how much he missed being human. That was him, though. Human Caroline couldn't do anything but stand back and hide from Klaus. Vampire Caroline put him in a sleeping curse, or whatever, and saved everyone.

At the end, Bonnie was too tired to wait for Damon, Elena and Kol to get back, so she left and Jeremy said he would be heading out too. Bonnie gave her a tight hug before leaving, and Jeremy looked at her for a while.

"What?" She asked.

"You kicked Klaus' ass, that's what. Good job."

She smiled. "Thanks."

He left, then, and she was alone with Stefan again.

She was too afraid to speak, even more afraid than before. He told her she would be experiencing enhanced feelings, too, so there was that. She downed a glass of scotch to help with the itch on her throat.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

She thought hard about how she would answer that. "I feel human."

He scoffed. "You're not. Not anymore."

"I know. But I feel like nothing has changed. Except the hunger for blood, that really did change. But I feel the same. I feel... I feel like this is who I was meant to be all along. I'm fast, I'm strong, I can defend myself. I finally did something to help you guys like you helped me. I'm feeling perfectly fine."

"For now. Do you think you'll be able to control yourself the next time you see a human? You'll hear the blood pumping in their veins. You'll hear their heartbeat and you'll get so hungry your fangs will be out before you even realize it."

"You'll help me."

"Will I?"

"Don't be mad at me, Stefan."

"I'm not! That's what makes me angry. The fact I can't get angry at you makes me angry, and that's stupid. I want to be angry at you. You threw away your life, your human life. I would kill to get mine back, and you just gave it away, you handed it to Klaus, for what?"

Caroline thought he knew that already. "For you! And Elena, and Damon, and everyone. I got you into this, I had to get you out."

"I said I was going to protect you." There was sadness in his voice, and Caroline hated herself for that.

"And I believed you." She spoke softly. "But  _I_  wanted to protect myself. And you."

Stefan sighed. He looked at her, then, and she felt so self-conscious under his stare she thought for a second she was 17 again. "I love you too." He said, so softly she almost missed it. If she still had her human hearing she probably would have, but she was a vampire now, and vampires heard everything loud and clear.

She still wanted to be sure, though. Maybe it was just a vampire hallucination. "What?"

He walked closer to her and cupped her face with his hands. "I love you too."

"You do?" She asked. She didn't know what to do with her hands, she didn't know what to do with anything. All she could hear was her heart beating, and Stefan's, and they were in sync.

"I do. I love you so much, Caroline. Too much. I thought you were dead and I wouldn't get the chance to tell you I love you, but you're here. I don't wanna waste a single minute being angry at you, or worrying about your humanity. All I want to do is tell you I love you, and I will always love you, vampire or human. I love you."

"I love you too, Stefan. More than anything. You were the best thing that ever happened to me." She smiled. "I need you to kiss me now because I'm afraid I'll start crying at any moment and it's not gonna be pretty."

He laughed, and pressed his lips to hers. Everywhere his hands touched her were on fire, and it was everything she ever dreamed of and more. Her hand played with his hair and his taste felt like home. Why did it take her so long to do this? She didn't want to spend time thinking about that, though. She only wanted to kiss him more and more.

Finally, she thought. Finally.

* * *

She held Stefan's hand as they walked in their living room the next day. She called everyone so she could thank them all one last time. Judging by the way Rebekah and Kol walked in, they wouldn't all be in the same room any time soon.

"So you two finally realized what we all knew already?" Rebekah said. "Thank God. I was getting tired of the stupidity."

Caroline glanced at their entwined fingers and smiled at Stefan. "Yes, Rebekah, we did. That is not why I called you here though."

"What is it, then?"

"I wanna thank you. Every one of you. I guess it's safe to say I messed up your lives pretty badly. You guys helped me, hid me, protected me. I will never forget that." She thought Rebekah was gonna say something witty and snarky back, but she only looked at her. "You guys became my family. I love you all."

"We love you too, Care." Elena was smiling while she held Damon's hand.

"This is sappy." Damon said, but Caroline could see he was just as happy as she was. She looked at him with her eyebrows raised. "I'm glad you're okay, though, blondie." He said, just as Caroline knew he would.

"What are you gonna do now?" Bonnie asked.

Caroline looked at Stefan and then back at Bonnie. "I have no idea," she started. "I honestly don't. All I know is that this is where I belong now. And if you'll have me... I'd like to stay around."

She felt Stefan squeezing her fingers and couldn't help but squeeze it back.

Matt and April and her mom and her apartment back at New York seemed like a whole different life to her. She realized how out-of-place she had felt before, even when she thought she was happy. It seemed stupid to say so, but she felt as if all her life she had been waiting for this moment, right here. Being a vampire was hard, she couldn't lie. It wasn't all super speed and super hearing and super healing, it was hard and she would have to work at it every day, but she felt like she was finally happy with who and where she was.

Later, when the house went back to just Damon, Elena, Stefan and Caroline, she was about to open a third blood bag when Stefan walked in on her.

"Easy there." He warned her.

She tried, she really did, but sometimes it was stronger than her. She wanted to show Stefan she could do it though, she wanted to show him she was still the same person, so she forced herself to put the bag down. It wasn't only for Stefan, though. She did it for herself. She didn't want to lose who she was completely.

"Sorry." She murmured.

"It's alright." He put the blood bag out of her reach and sat himself next to her. "I can help you hunt, if you want. Animal blood. It's not the same as human blood, we all can feel the difference, but at least if you drink both you won't get addicted to neither."

"I'm a vampire now, Stefan." The words felt strange in her tongue, even now. "I guess you can't really fight off blood addiction."

"Humans need food, but they're not addicted to it. Of course we feel a different kind of hunger, but you can learn to control it. One day, you won't need to drink three blood bags one after the other."

Caroline nodded. "We can do this." She said.

He looked at her and smiled. Caroline felt a warmth going through her body. "We can do this." He agreed.

They kissed and kissed and kissed until Caroline's lips were red and her cheeks were flushed. She would never get enough of him, ever, she knew that. The way he stroked her cheek and played with her hair, the way his lips touched hers and his tongue searched her mouth. She loved him more than she had ever loved Matt, more than she had ever loved anyone else in the world.

He gave her something to live for, even after she gave her life for him.

* * *

A week later, Elena, Damon, Stefan and Caroline sat together, blood bags and alcohol in their hands, the fire crackling in the fireplace.

"You've been a vampire for a week now, Care," Elena paused to take a sip of her whiskey. "How's it going?"

Caroline leaned back on the couch, her blonde curls falling freely over her shoulders. "It's going great. I'm not a big fan of bunny blood, though, but I don't really want to go around killing people, so it's gonna have to do."

Damon laughed. "Bunny blood. I take it you got that one from Stefan."

"Don't start." Stefan warned his brother.

"Have you called your mom?" Elena asked.

Caroline hadn't thought about her mom for so long she suddenly felt guilty. "Not yet. I don't know what I'm supposed to tell her."

"Tell her you ditched her to live with vampires and got turned into one and that now you'll live forever while she keeps getting older and older and eventually dies." Damon cocked his eyebrow.

"That's a great plan," Caroline said ironically. "I suppose I should also tell her I kill bunnies now."

"Yes, absolutely. That's the most important part." Damon smiled.

"No, but seriously," Elena spoke up. "She must be worried."

Once upon a time, a lifetime ago, Caroline was as close to her mother as a daughter could be. Things changed, though, and now they would change even further. "Last time she called me, which was, like, a month ago, I told her I was out living my life and mending my broken heart. She won't expect a call from me for the next... two years, or something." That may have been an exaggeration, but things were too good right now for her to think about the lies she'd have to tell to the people she once loved so dearly.

Caroline wouldn't stop loving her mom, she knew that. She would always remember Matt, and April, and all the other people that were in her life during her first 24 years of living. But now she had other people, people that she loved even more than she first expected to. And she had Stefan. He left everything behind to save her, and now she was leaving everything behind to be with him.

Klaus was gone. He would never, ever come back, and they were all safe. Rebekah turned Caleb into a vampire and Jeremy was in the process of convincing Elena to let him become one, too. Elena wouldn't hear any of it, but Caroline knew she also hated the idea of watching her brother grow old and eventually die. It was one thing to want your own humanity back, but it was just too hard to think that one day time would catch up to a loved one and they wouldn't be there anymore, especially when you have the power to change that.

She had everything she ever wanted. She was immortal, she could do anything, go anywhere. She had Stefan, she had friends, and now it was time to dare.

* * *

"I wanna go travelling." She said when she was in Stefan's bed, months later, with her head resting on his chest. "All around the world. I wanna see everything there is to be seen, I wanna do everything there is to be done."

"We can do that." Stefan stroked her hair.

"Let's do it, then. Let's run away together." She looked up at him and smiled.

Stefan's smile was just as bright as hers. "Let's do it."

She was on top of him then, kissing and touching him with all her love. He smiled and chuckled and sighed, and she felt like she was in Heaven.

He told her he loved her again, and again, and again, and each time Caroline said it back and she never got tired of that. She had a feeling she never, ever would.


	22. Epilogue

It had been exactly 50 years since the last time Caroline set foot in this house. It all looked the same, though. The fireplace, the golden couch, the paintings on the wall, the hardwood floor and, most importantly, the smell. This was home for her, and she was beyond glad to be back.

They had visited so many places. They saw the statue of liberty first, roughly 48 years ago, and that was the last time Caroline ever saw her mother. Stefan didn't want to meet her mother, but Caroline made him do it anyway. She told her mother they were in love, and that Caroline was done with being an ordinary New Yorker with no aims in life. Her mother tried to keep her near, but she knew Caroline too well to insist on the matter. After that, there were only skype sessions and, eventually, when she couldn't hide her ever-lasting youth any longer, phone calls and texts. Her mother died 20 years later, at the age of 68, but Caroline had to visit her grave only once, with no one around. It was still too early.

She never heard of Matt again, or April, for that matter. She knew it would happen, yet she still fell a little betrayed. She thought they were her family. She was wrong.

Still, she wondered where they were. Wondered what they were doing, how they looked, if they were happy, if Matt had found someone good enough to fit his standards, if April finished college and followed her dreams... It was always Stefan who had to pull her out of all that wondering. "They're in your past now. Thinking about them won't do or change anything."

As usual, he was right.

They visited Paris, then. But their visits weren't really visits. They would stay for 3 to 5 years in one place, or until they got bored, which happened quite often. They kept to themselves and never got into any long-lasting friendships. Never the same country twice in a row, that was their rule. Paris had been their favorite place, though. At first it was only Caroline's favorite place, but just like it happened with Caroline, Stefan ended up in love with the city before he even realized what happened.

They even changed their names sometimes. Once, in Rio de Janeiro, Caroline decided she wanted to be called Liz, after her mother, at least to people she had to introduce herself to. To Stefan, she was Caroline, no matter where they were or how they had gotten there, but it was nice anyway.

Caroline talked to Elena every week. They stayed in Mystic Falls for 8 more years, and then they had to leave after people started complimenting her on how young she still looked despite being over 30. She decided to turn Jeremy after all. He didn't complain. He had a life with Bonnie, though, and they were all living in New Orleans, but not together as they used to.

Bonnie used spells to keep her youth. Witches didn't have immortality, but they did have their words and chants and magic. It'd catch up to her eventually, she said. "So far, so good." She told Caroline last time they spoke. She didn't look more than 20 years old.

"Do you think we should go back to Mystic Falls now?" Caroline asked Stefan one day, while they looked down the world on top of the Eiffel Tower.

Stefan shrugged. "Do you want to?"

"I miss it." Caroline admitted. "I didn't think I would, but I do. It felt like home to me."

"It is home." He said, and his hands moved to hold Caroline by the waist. " _Our_  home."

She smiled, then, and he kissed her. Every time they kissed it felt like the first time, and Caroline never got enough. She thought that magic they had, that passion, would wear off one day. It always does, eventually, but that happened to humans and she was not a human anymore. She felt the same way she did that night she told him she loved him before she gave up her humanity to keep him safe.

Somehow, she knew it would never change.

They agreed to go back to Mystic Falls, then, even if for just a little while. They had seen and done so much Caroline once could only dream of, and now it was time to come back home.

A few of the human people of Mystic Falls that knew about Stefan made sure his house was kept the way the left it. Caroline always said she would compel anyone she found living there, and Stefan only laughed and said it would not be necessary.

And he was right. If not for the way the little town had changed outside, Caroline would be sure no time had passed at all.

Stefan walked in after her. He set the luggage down on the floor and watched intently as Caroline looked around the house. She could feel his eyes on her, and to this day, that alone made a warmth creep up her neck. "Stop staring at me like that."

Stefan chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. She tilted her head to the side, resting it on his chest. "You're beautiful, that's all. I like to stare at you like that."

"Hmm." She closed her eyes. "It feels like we never left."

"I know." He said, and she put her hands over his. "We did, though. And it was amazing."

She laughed and turned her face to his. "It was, wasn't it?" He smiled. "I love you, Stefan. I'm so happy. All thanks to you."

"All thanks to  _you_." He said, touching her nose lightly. She chuckled. "I love you, too."

She kissed him then, a soft, tender kiss, the kind of kiss they always shared like something as normal as brushing your teeth when you wake up. Being with him felt so effortless, so natural, like they were meant to be all along. Maybe it was destiny. Still to this day she couldn't understand why Klaus chose to kidnap her instead of just feeding off her and leaving her be. But every time she kissed Stefan, woke up with his arms around her, heard him laugh and looked into his eyes, the more she was convinced it was destiny that brought them together and everything that happened was already written a long time before she met him.

They broke apart after awhile, both breathless. "We should call Elena." She said, playing with his hair.

He sighed. "I know. I just really wanted to hold you for a little while longer." He said. Caroline's heart sped up. He still had that effect.

"We're gonna have a lot of time for that!" She said, giving him one last kiss before walking away of his grasp. "She wanted me to call her the moment we got here."

"Are they coming, too?" Stefan asked.

"I don't think so. I mean, I didn't really invite her... I wanted us to be alone here for a while." She gave him a shy smile despite herself.

"Oh." He raised his eyebrows. "Alright, then." She rolled her eyes at that.

After she called Elena and got the confirmation they would be all alone at least for a while, they both sat on the couch, snuggled up under a blanket, watching the fireplace crack and burn.

"I missed this house." Stefan admitted. "I fell in love with you here."

She smiled. "Yeah," She started, "We had some pretty good times in here."

"We really did."

"We'll have more, too."

"Of course we will." Stefan planted a kiss on her cheek. "If you don't get tired of me, of course."

"I promise I won't if you promise you won't get tired of me either."

"Never." He said.

She kissed him. "Never."

They sat there, then. For how long Caroline could not tell. She lost track of time in Stefan's arms, with Stefan's kisses, with Stefan's voice and words and body. Her love for him grew stronger every day, every minute, every second. He was everything she ever wanted.

Sometimes, in moments like those, Caroline had a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sometimes she felt like it was all too good to be true. She was afraid something would go wrong and take away all that happiness, all that love.

Thankfully, Stefan was always there to kiss the fear away.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own The Vampire Diaries or these character. Sadly.
> 
> I have this entire story already written out. It took me pretty much the entire year of 2013 to write this, but since I'm constantly changing things here and there I haven't yet been able to post the whole story.
> 
> Please, comment! Tell me what you think so far. Also, I apologize for any grammar mistake. I know how annoying it is to read something in English with the wrong usage of words and grammar, but unfortunately, English is not my first language. I do the best I can.
> 
> Hope you like this.
> 
> \- Anna.


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